OBSERVANCE OF JOY

Observance of Joy

I stood in the quiet of the oncoming evening

And watched her in the garden, humming

Her hands dirty with the rich, black soil

Her blue dress, stained and ripped at the hem

And I loved her so I thought my heart would burst

Flowers surrounded her, the result of many hours

Vegetables, ripe and ready to be eaten, waited

Birds were shooed away and bugs, exterminated

All the while humming that lovely, unidentifiable tune

And I loved her so I thought my heart would sing

I had walked past her on my journey home

The workaday woes heavy on my mind

The incoming, outgoing, out of proportion paperwork

Still to be dealt with, still to be paid, lying on the desk

And I had passed her without glance or second thought

As I neared the door to hearth and home, I turned

Abruptly as if an unseen hand had turned me thus

And I watched her obliviously working on my dinner

Over my shoulder, quietly, in stunned awareness

And I loved her so much I thought my heart would break.

©By Voo
July 8, 07

for Sterling