Monthly Archives: June 2023

What Am I Doing And Why?

The rain has come
and gone.
Torrents falling
and felling
wildflowers
and trees
and hopes
of what I was going to do
today.

Doctor Seuss
and the Cat
and the siblings
knew what that felt like:
Stuck inside,
plans dashed.

My wife and I
though,
(Thing 1 and Thing 2)
were able to clean
and sort
and organize,
even as the rain fell.

Something
from nothing.

But now
I’ve cleaned up,
changed,
showered,
dressed,
much too early
to leave as I planned.
And I can’t go back out
and work
in the dirt
the way I want to.

My hands will be muddy,
my knees will be soiled,
my hair will be full
of garbage
and dirt,
and I will not be ready to go
anywhere.

What should I do instead?

I’ll put my fingers
on the black keyboard,
stare at a blank screen
of white,
and wait to see
what comes out,
what happens next,
where the day
will take me,
and why.

Wildflowers: Subtle Influence of Generations Past

A flock of goldfinches
dances among morning-light-basked
coreopsis, sunflowers, and coneflowers
in our once-sterile and lawned,
now wildflower-laden, front yard.

A bright red cardinal
flutters amongst
a glowing-flowered rose bush,
as if thinking the red petals
were competition.

I muse at how,
years prior,
the landlady had demanded:
“Cut down these weeds!
I just want a well-kept lawn!”

Now, in spring,
as new plants arise,
she carefully takes
lawnmower or weed-wacker,
and carves paths that avoid wildflowers.

As summer beckons,
her cautious paths let us
leisurely stroll through
bright pinks, whites, yellows, purples, blues, reds.
We become surrounded by and absorbed in Nature.

What made the change?
What turned this orderly hostess
demanding sterile, well-manicured lawns,
to one who could see and rejoice
in the colorful riot of wildflowers?

My grandparents,
(who she never met),
and their parents
were known for the flowers
and fruits they kept.

The family joke was
how the Sheboygan matriarch
grew her veggies and flowers
in the bathtub.
Beauty before cleanliness.

The tradition carried on,
as my grandmother taught
her children and grandchildren
to enjoy and relish nature.
“How beautiful!”

Grandmother’s children, too, 
(oft to the chagrin of neighbors),
invited wildflowers and native plants
instead of sterile and invasive species
to grow and thrive and bring beauty and life.

So now their children and grandchildren
leave patches of wild plants,
riotous color for the birds, bees, butterflies;
pollinators who gladly cavort and dance
the way their ancestors did.

As willing witnesses, we get to feel
the swelling in our hearts
and the welling of our eyes,
as we join with them in this
ancient dance in the wildflowers.

Read more about how the landlady of Spirit Tree Farms, Marnie Kuhns, transformed from loving lawns to wooing wildflowers, birds, and pollinators in her book about finding peace in Nature and God’s Creations.

Nothing New: Just Do

I close my eyes, wait,
and listen for direction.
There’s nichts new. Just “Do!”