Father’s Garden

Daisies loop eloquently across the path 
To your secret place, 
Your hideaway.

This tiny Eden bursts with blossoms, 
Pledge of peach, plum and pear, 
Swarm of strawberry and cherry. 
Spraying down walls like Cameron Falls 
Cascades of grapevine tangle.

Yet in a dark corner, 
Jagged thorns of blackberry, 
Sinister silver of a wasp nest 
And the squalid smell of compost.

Twisting back apricot branches 
You snip off with your fingers 
To crush them with the rounding heel 
Of a cracked black shoe.

Humming your fingers through deep rich dirt 
You dream new wonders—
Impressionist, sculptor of sun and seed, 
Life-giver.