Poems Niederngasse
Maureen Swanson
Seasons in the Garden

In spring he rakes away the heavy crush of leaves,
tills the soil to remove tiny boulders.
His tomato plants would be free
to wiggle their toes.

Summer makes him anxious like an expectant father
watching for his first heirloom tomato
to ripen like the breasts of the red robins
that chirp in the trees.

The leaves return once more to the worm-laden soil;
they've come to reclaim their winter home.
The gardener pulls the wooden stakes
in anticipation of next season's rich bite of tomato.

He stands holding his shovel, thinks of the future
like a father who stands listening his sleeping children.
In the still dusk, a small black and yellow bird
darts into the scene to sit on his shoulder.

round I, poem 9, 6 November 2005

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Maureen Swanson is a fourth grade teacher from Warwick, Rhode Island. She enjoys sharing her love of poetry with her class, and she continues to learn from them every day. Several of her poems have been published in Crescent Moon Journal and T-Zero.  email:  Maureen Swanson