cardinals singing boisterously, 5 a.m.
a raven or two in our yard
regular visitors
under our bird feeder
corn / cracked corn in the mix
Poem copyright 2016 by Jnana Hodson
For more, click here.
Tag: Gardening
GIVEN
a strip of land
to develop
or let go wild
or trash
you make your mark
me, I think I’d rather farm
or run a trap set
drawing on something
in my bloodline
more than the banker
but this is, after all, in a city
Poem copyright 2016 by Jnana Hodson
For more, click here.
SQUIRREL TAXI
who knows exactly when it happened
that he realized he held more in common
with squirrels than any of his colleagues?
he couldn’t quite fly, no matter how much
he admired birds, and had climbed
enough trees as a kid to nearly qualify
still, he had little taste for nuts, other than cashews,
unless you mean a strange people,
and he rarely raked fallen leaves
maybe it was all a matter of some vague sense
he didn’t exactly belong in this apartment or house,
except by clandestinely rearranging his peculiar insulation
maybe it was simply a nickname
for the way he rummaged frenziedly in search
of some missing item suddenly remembered
he would dash, then, in and out of the trap
in and out of the trap and, with a snap,
wonder where he was being carried
Poem copyright 2015 by Jnana Hodson
To read the full set of squirrelly poems, click here.
THIS OLD HOUSE
I used to like the Public Broadcasting System series, back before I bought an old house. Now it’s too painful. Look at all this old wiring, the plumbing problems, the rot and warping, the fact the bulkhead needs replacing. The flaking paint, again. (Bulkhead? Didn’t even know what that was beforehand.)
What else do you want to know about New England?
~*~
For more on my poetry collection and others, click here.
PULL UP A SEAT
It’s a kitchen table, rather than a largely ignored dining room. Or outside, in the rain. Or even a restaurant or diner.
Well, in one of the poems, it’s linen covered beside a black pond. But that’s for a formal occasion.
As for the rest of the series, the pieces reflect home and family and a calling to intimacy. How informal do you want to get? And how do you like your tea?
~*~
For your own copy, click here.
HAY AND STRAW
Feeding bunnies, I’ve learned the difference. Hay is healthier than straw.
But when it comes to mulch, straw’s better. Leads to fewer weeds.
~*~
Back to the Farm
“You want first-cutting? Or third?”
October, a dash to the farm for two more bales of mulch hay
a half-dozen ears of sweet corn, gourds, etc.
and then the wine store
before grilling thick pork chops
poem copyright 2016 by Jnana Hodson
~*~
For more home and garden poems, click here.
WITH OR WITHOUT INCENSE
Every autumn, I drain and put the hoses away. Shut off the water. Move other stuff into the barn and shed.
Just one more round of rituals that could be accompanied by incense.
~*~
For my home and garden free poetry collections, click here.
GARDEN STORES AND NURSERIES
This time of year, it’s off for mums. This is, especially, New England. It’s all part of the look.
My wife has her favorite nursery, Bluebell, in Lee. They really know the quality of what they carry. The way a good bookstore does.
So where are you headed? And why?
THIS TIME
over the kitchen, one black walnut is bare
the other’s just beginning to turn yellow
10 pumpkins wait beside the driveway
even before I collect squashes and gourds
from the garden
autumn touches, make my Lady of Spices happy
chrysanthemums and a few poppies
reset to barrels and pots around the barn and kitchen entry
the mums in the barrels so gorgeous
next to the pumpkin-filled wheelbarrow
the harvest in a wheelbarrow – eggplants, too
or vines in the compost
our blooming cardinal flower
makes me wish more had survived, even just one, to remind us
poem copyright 2016 by Jnana Hodson
~*~
For more of my home and garden poems, click here.
SO JUST WHO’S NUTS?
Am I really a squirrel, as my wife suggests?
Sometimes I wonder.
~*~
For more on my poetry collection and others, click here.
Jnana's Red Barn 