The old picnic table
Heaves a sigh. Falling leaves
And faded cloth cling
To its warped wooden surface,
Dry smiles crackling with age.

Only one rabbit and one small chicken
Left in a yard that once bustled
With over thirty animals! One dog,
Nine rabbits, seven house cats, two
‘outsider’ cats and fifteen 4-H chickens!
In my small backyard! People
Were always coming and going
And sitting on me to enjoy backyard life.

It was like a jungle back here! Honeysuckle
Draped the built-up side-latticed fence
And reached over the then-live pomegranate tree,
reaching heaven-scent. Ivy was training
to climb the back garden cliff to help stop erosion.
There were flower planters hanging in the tree,
As well as flowers below. Sticks and chimes
And knick-knacks adorned my companion tree's limbs.
It was a beautiful yard, full of dreams of flighty-mind…

Somehow, time passed. Four yappy terriers
Moved next door, children grew out of visiting
And, worst of all, it lost its appeal to Her,
Who created it!

She came less to gain comfort from my tabletop,
The misters in the tree above didn’t mist anymore,
Clogged up. Less flowers bloomed in our grandiose
Oasis. I could feel her ‘weary’. It seems I couldn’t
Fresh myself up, too many memories had passed
Within my space.

Its been lonely, left adrift. Sure, the cats still come
To admire my frame, but, I need my family
To come alive, again, and, I don’t think they will.
Somehow, time passes. It’s the season of Fall,
I think, that makes me melancholy and reflective.
I’m always here, providing the tree a landing place
For some of its leaves, and, winter will soon follow…

Erin Elizabeth Kelly-Moen
© Copyright 10/23/07