WEED GARDEN
A swell of marigolds lustily pushing aside the earth
New baby oak trees shooting up from their acorns
Tall crowd of Jerusalem artichokes waving wildly behind the gate
Rose bay willow herb sweeping pink and blue banners to heaven
Lush and uncontrolled.
These are happy weeds.
Hidden past the highway bend,
a bench clings to a shallow cliff
above a beach where banks extend
across the bay in sandy drifts.
When tides are low, the sea withdraws,
to flaunt the treasured ocean floor,
and anyone can walk across
the sand to reach the other shore.
With green paint peeling like old flesh,
the bench is baked in salt and sun.
Remember when the paint was fresh,
and in your arms I came undone?
From here, we watch the water snag
in grooves of sand like buried mirrors.
The sky is pink as sunlight fades.
Come close, my love, I need you nearer.
*This poem is based on the green bench (yes, it really exists!) at Sand Dollar Beach, located in the Rose Bay area of Nova Scotia, Canada
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