It's time to pull the roots
of the Early Girls, Romas,
Sweet 100's along
with zucchinis, crook-necks,
peppers, eggplants,
Chinese long beans.
I rejuvenate the plot,
spread moist manure,
let it seep and steep
into the depleted soil,
making way for infant
hardy reds and greens
of broccoli, carrots, beets,
cabbage, Swiss chard, kale.
The garden I planted at the year's
first equinox flourished
when the sun reached June.
Now its low angle casts long shadows
from the trees that surround the garden.
I take out the withered plants
disrupting the homes of insects
and small critters, providing meals
for the red-tail hawks that whine
and sway in the treetops.


© by Erle Kelly.
Used with the author's permission.