For One Who Tends Gardens

2015
Andrea Jenkins

As you overturn the soil 
On yet another new garden

You worry, “will this patch grow?”
What is the right amount of fertilizer?

How do I protect this precious garden
From the pests of life?

You are the mother to nature
Nurturing the sweet basil, heirloom

Tomatoes, cauliflower and broccoli...

You make wildflowers bloom in 
The most unanticipated places,

Along seashores, in the forest, on top of mountains
In the cracks on the concrete

Your determination is only is only matched
By this wild child’s insistence 

On independence, and you know this instinctively-
It’s a dynamic dance, twirling 

At times you become exhausted
You cry silently

Sometimes there’s a sudden out burst
Thunderclaps, erupting volcanoes

Rain and lava re-imagines
The landscape

Mothers fight for their children’s rights
For their chance to grow like that garden

Knowing all along 
Nothing is ever guaranteed

So you fill that child with your love
Remaining hopeful.

As mother of the garden, you lean in
Observe, interpret, and intervene…