Sustenance

I will grow a herb garden

at my home.

A garden that decorates and enhances more

than the vista.

One that provides sustenance and flavor

to food and soul.

Replete with spice and herbs which waft aromatic

Mediterranean and exotic eastern scents

through the still, warm air

on summer evenings;

so that Shanghai, the Adriatic, Morocco

and dreams of Tuscany

are never far away.

This is the garden on which I will focus,

and through its careful tending

hope to attract back some of that which has been lost -

Produce to enliven hearty soups and stews in winter and

add zest to the salads and grills of summer;

consumed with gusto by

those I love be they family or friend or ...

I will strive to provide for all and nurture all

by sustaining this garden.

I will know this garden’s needs

and in knowing will understand

the needs of others

and confess to them

my needs in return.

The dog and I only, know what bones lie

Beneath this fertile soil.

Bones not for entombment but to be preserved

and claimed when the time is right.

Spirits of garden and field

roam with Sabina amongst,

Rosemary, Oregano and Basil.

Marjoram and Fennel exude mists of olfactory intoxication,

and I inhale – momentarily entranced,

but never sated.

For passion which has died cannot be resuscitated

by herb or spice or tired effort,

and this alone can never again

be enough.

2001