Almanac
       

Mid February, the hour
of dowsers, thin moon
on its back. A time to plant

radishes, lettuce; amend.
Tides and hidden water,
the season's sweep of spheres,

turn in cyclic rhythms.
A woman awake cannot fail to see
Mars, brilliant in the sky,

and higher still, the thin boat
of fertility, the thin hope for restraint.
Layer compost and alfalfa—don't dig,

don't disturb the nematodes. Add,
keep adding to the soil. Alarming
how brightly Mars broadcasts

all night—divide, divide. Best
to tuck seeds under moonlight, under
the humming sweet unseen. As above,

we go. A woman awake plants
borage, dill, and marigolds--
companion planting, good for honeybees.

Syllables sprout up against the back
fence—grow! grow! grow! The whole
damn place ring-ringing.

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Copyright © 2013 Janet Jennings All rights reserved
from burntdistrict
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission