The Gardener

Spring stillness, morning dew, the trowel pressed into black loam, home for worms and pill-bugs. Tender seedlings, just unfolding, planted into the rich earth. Pulling weeds, planting seeds, the arbiter of life in this small patch of green reclines beneath the spreading tree and waits for summer. Roots grow deep and stems, striving toward the soaring sun, rise up. Next season’s bursting bounty swelling in Summer’s heat. He pours cool water from a can. Red wagon, wheels sinking, overflows with abundant produce. A colorful bounty paints Autumn’s silhouette on her table as trees, slipping into slumber, release their leaves. Winter’s white paints a silent blanket, the hearth ablaze, a jar of peaches near the frosted window. Soon, the first thaw will come to liberate Spring.