I chose “Garden” for Easter, another Christian holiday based on a pagan one (Ostara, which was March 20), because it showcases new growth and wildlife, for better or worse.
Taken at face value, this really is a poem about my garden. Most of my precious plants died as seedlings last year, and the tomato plants that survived and lived on my (fenced) deck were constantly chomped. My yield was, I think, two small tomatoes, despite watering them three times a week and keeping them fed. How the deer made it into my fenced off little corner of the suburbs, I may never know.
Of course, there is a meaning that sits a little deeper, too. My garden is my mind, watered with fresh ideas and gently cared for in every way I know how. My thoughts are organized (as much as can be expected), and I do my best to keep it that way.
But still, these deer, these chemical imbalances and dark thoughts, always show up through the fences and attempt to destroy everything I’ve worked so hard to manage.
I must continue to grow my garden and to repair the damage they do so I can have a generous yield of fresh crops to share.
Stay tuned for more “Behind the Poem” entries throughout the month of April, and if you want a sneak peek at tomorrow’s poem, check my Patreon. (It’s free!)
Happy reading,
Sibyl