shuffles inside
the cedar branches
unbeknownst to me
on the side of the house
no one goes
except to mow
fill the propane tank
or empty the septic
but I have come to fetch
lilies of the valley
squeezed against
that side of the house
hidden behind fanning ferns
and as I bend low to clip
one two three . . . fifty
slender lily stems
she screeches
to frighten me away
from her nest in the cedar
and I think too
from these flowers
so like eggs tumbling down
into their cave of ferns
so sweet and almost safe
from my hands
I have a feeling you'll go back there more often now, right? :) So sweet, Ruth.
ReplyDeleteYes, sweet, and quite lovely. A robin befriended me in the garden today, looking for grubs in the freshly-dug soil. Much of the time it was only a few feet away.
ReplyDeleteLife is always reminding us of the importance of other life. Perhaps the robin sees boundaries that we cannot see.
ReplyDeleteeven with the most earthly intentions we come up against one another, or at least as this is relevant in my life right now this is how i see it. what to do then? ignore the lilies, the bounty of the earth? but unbeknownst to the ferns they have become a refuge. perhaps unwittingly and unknowingly we are as often refuges for one another.
ReplyDeletexo
erin
"...almost safe..." Are we not all "almost safe" even as we try to protect ourselves (and our families)? Only you could see eggs in lilies of the valley.Exquisite, that. We never realize where they are lurking: coming home today I heard a scratching outside & couldn't place it, until I saw bird with twig--building its nest in the gutter! Oh, no, they will clean you out. Pray she heard that thought...
ReplyDeletethis brings back memories of lilies of the valley from my childhood.... they always seemed to be protruding from a nondescript garage wall, as if to say - i will grow where you least expect me. where beauty is needed the most.'
ReplyDeletethose tiny blossoms? yes - eggs tumbling down, and almost safe from your hands. but you must pick them, i think. they are too attractive to our human hearts.