“The Lawn Gloves”
This old wheelbarrow is retired
Now showing signs of neglect
In my youth, I pushed this ‘one-wheel-wonder’
From the back yard repetitively
Carrying bags of cut grass, tree limbs, and
Hedge trimmings to the curb out front
The design was to make short work
Of hauling heavy things
It was exciting when you figured out how to maneuver it
Completing one round trip, but after that…not so much
Before wooden fencing became the privacy craze
My childhood home had a wall of wax leaf ligustrums
They were planted along the chain link fence
Across the back of the yard to hide the alley
Every summer they had to be trimmed
As not to touch the electric wires that ran
From one telephone pole to another
And yes the horticulturist that planted
The hedge before my family bought the house
Planted the hedge directly under them…
The annual ritual awarded aching muscles
As well as painful blisters on fingers and hands
That old wheelbarrow is inverted now
Resting proudly beside the shed
But the memories it brings when I look at it today
It makes me wish that I had been the one…
Who invented Bengay ointment and the lawn gloves~
Original Photo and Works of Karen McKeever © 2017
