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The Old Man's Garden

The old man's garden and my back yard
are divided by a line fence.

Each Spring he plants onions, sweet peas
and green beans. When they are done yielding
their crop he pulls them and composts them in the row.

Next come the tomatoes and the black berries.
The birds beat him to the berries every year.
His grapevine needs pruning, but you see
his cataract covered eyes cannot see to prune.
And he is ninety two now, and can't string the
mesh up to protect the grapes from the birds
and squirrels.

We chat across the fence each spring,
he complains about he oak tree poisoning
his soil and casting shade on his garden.

I listen and nod my head
he said, one day to me,
"oh it's you, someone told me you were dead."

bentfeather