Passion for Stinkin’ Plants That Will Die Anyway

Passion for Stinkin’ Plants That Will Die Anyway

84 degrees in the shade and I
drag my tooth-just-extracted self
to the garden store so all the
folks at church will see that
I am really making an effort
on the parsonage to… why
am I here? Oh, yeah, to buy plants

One purple, something pink, posy, daisy,
varietals, variegated, annuals, manually
cartsweatpushed to checkout

Then to the smoldering car
Four windows down and still
sweat pours through cleavage
pooling in my belly button

Home, quick, dig, plant, hose
A real Choo-Choo-Charlie effort
or is it “I think I can…?”
I start stripping at the door,
long line of socks, shorts,
shirt, until
(still in underwear)
I drench clenching teeth
in cold water shower.

Was it all a mirage?
No, merely stupidity

© 2013 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil

Fireblossom at Imaginary Garden With Real Toads wanted our passions. Well, the point behind this was more like Protestant guilt to try and “homey up” our new pastoral residence, but hey, the passion is what you make of it! Amy