I wanted a healthy green grass,

large backyard covered with planting beds

Wildflowers on one side

—- poppy, bellflower, and aster

Foxglove and marigold

Vegetables all around

—- potatoes in the ground, peppers on the vine

Lettuce and turnips

Fruits that gave it all color

— hazy blueberries, juicy strawberries

Raspberries, and oranges

The bees buzzed all around but never to harm

The butterflies were blue and

Red and yellow

And orange

The hummingbirds so fast

You can’t keep up

The mourning dove cooing somewhere

In a shady tree

How I saw you there

On a rocking chair, eyes closed

Jaw relaxed, hand on my knee

But you wanted butterflies with no flowers,

Sunshine without rain

Love without compassion,

And I can’t recall a time you bought me flowers