Our roses had june bugs and Japanese beetles
eating at the petals as we’re nibbled by mosquitoes.
Our roses needed water, hold the nozzle count to thirty,
and after a while, they shall not be so thirsty.
And with the garden hose,
make home-grown rainbows,
hold it up to sunlight and look for the
red, orange, and yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet,
red, orange, and yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
And we would go on walks around the lake,
and you would often stop and exclaim,
there’s a snapping turtle and a snapping dragon,
and the latter has a pistol, pollen, and a stamen,
and you would explain and examine
and teach me all the names so I would have them.
And from the horizon a great heron came flying
it cut across the sky and dove into the island.
And I was amazed…
thank you for taking me to the lake from an early age.
Bestow your gifts
at the gathering
as crows cackle and sing
on the brinks of Lake Accotink.