A little girl's garden world... "her childish intuition understood..."

What garden of earthly delight!
the scrap of backyard behind her shabby tenement
for one lonely little towheaded tyke.
The flat she lived in boring bare bleak
except lively occupants mommy and daddy.

She, time spent alone quite a lot,
entertained her soon-to-be-sister, pretend best friend,
stuck indoors, most days, not their fault.
Home’s secret favorite spot, parents’ special treat
all the playground means affords, with walks in the park.

Private welcome to the natural world;
tangled trees, unkempt lawns, wildflowers n’ weeds;
splendid arrays of sights, sounds, and smells.
Little girl, tiny yard,
inside sagged, paint-peeled, picket fence.
Through a child’s eyes: Perfect Eden, glorious retreat!

Kneeling close on hands and knees
our pint-size explorer inspected, wide-eyed wonder
the drama unfolding beneath.
Eyes could see
White Daisies, Black Eyed Susans, Yellow Buttercups,
Assault of pretty butterflies, tiny birds, busy honeybees.

She delighted in attracting Lady Bug luck,
sighting fuzzy caterpillars, grasshoppers, dragonflies, moths.
While curious, learned caution, with tender touch.
Limbs and fingers bare,
naked arms outstretched,
skipped thorny thistles, toadstools, snakes n’ spiders, ugly slugs.

Ages spent searching carpets of green,
for Four-Leaf-Clovers among the Three,
she discovered there tiny ants wending through grasses
they couldn’t see.
The cosmos in miniature.
Her childish intuition understood...
Garden: Gateway to what the universe is, how it appears to us.



copyright © Helga Ross 2003