Other People's Gardens

I walk the path that takes me

Through other peoples’ gardens

Tulips spaced to catch the light

And shadows as they harden

To life here in the northwoods

Where frost and sunshine marry

I walk these cobbled color-paths

And find a place to tarry

’Midst feathered blue and indigo

And bearded, ruffled petals

Tucked tight among the green and sage

That test a blossom’s mettle

And so I walk through shelves of books

My friends and cohorts planted

They wrote the words and hoed them good

And one bright day were granted

A harvest of a contract

To print the words they’ve sown

So on my knees I’m planting now

A garden of my own.