In Nora's Garden

In Nora's Garden

Non semper erit aestas.  - Erasmus


In Noras's garden, nothing's overgrown;
the phlox and freesias keep their proper place —
no goldenrod, no florid overblown
rugosas spoil the cultivated grace.
In Nora's garden, hummingbirds and bees
find ample sustenance all summer long;
her suet feeders swing from maple trees
whose visitors repay her gift in song.

It wasn't always so. I can remember
when dandelions ruled. My mirthful neighbor
could not have cared less, April through September,
about the weather or the fruits of labor.
In Nora's garden, everything is plum;
her hedge against whatever else may come.




© Catherine Chandler