Conversation With The Garden

“When you run out of cheeks to turn,

What then?” I asked,

“What do you do?

Do you rev your motor up

And spin away?

In a huge splash of dirt?”

Slough it off, slough it off,

Let the hurt fall away.

You are waterproof.

Forget it ever fell.

“How do you know,” I asked.

“How do you know it’s true?”

You have pores, my child.

You can close them and open them again at will –

Like a leaf, that’s how it does photosynthesis.

Open to the sun and water that which nourishes you:

Love, Truth, Peace, Harmony, Human Understanding,

That you may blossom in glory.

Open to pull out the rocks and weeds that hinder you:

Self-doubt, fear, jealousy, resentment, worry, guilt, and hate,

That they cannot take root and grow.

Close, shut out daggers that others may sling at you:

Fear, jealousy, resentment, worry, hate, and shame,

That they cannot pierce through your skin.

Tiny wasted insect stings,

They need your prayers,

Not deflected daggers back.

You can never run out of prayers.

Your cheeks can never run out of turns.

Leona Patrick