Poem – Gardener’s Creed

Patience and hope
are a gardener’s creed.

One has to believe
in the smallest seed.

We plant things into
the dark and cold ground.

Not knowing if in the spring
something will be found.

To be a gardener
is a ruthless task.

One has to be tough
to create a garden that lasts.

Weak plants need
to be pulled out and away.

Seasons don’t have time to wait
to see if plants will play.

But when a gardener
gets it just right.

With every shift
of seasonal light.

The colors change
as the garden grows.

The patterns emerge
from the ground below.

And the birds come to gather
in the morning light.

There is plenty for all as they
find what they need for flight.

Perhaps I am a bird
that lost its wings.

Or a butterfly that dreamed
of other things.

But when I look
at them floating by.

I feel my chest
and express a deep sigh.

I have learned that life
is not without pain.

My garden teaches me that
again and again.

And as the fall
approaches in the sky.

The colors will fade
as the light says goodbye.

But I know that again
the garden will bloom.

And life will spring from the ground
as all life comes from the womb.

~Suzanne Wagner~