Optimist #1 Poem by Lance Miller

optimist #1



It would all start
on a warm day in May.

Into the van we would pile.
For a trip
To the seed store.
So much to choose from
Tomato and pepper plants
corn, okra, beans, melons and squash.

Daddy would plow and till
We would pick up rocks and worms.
Mom would supervise it all.

A spring time garden
freshly tilled and smooth
can be a magical thing.
anything can happen.
You can sow one seed and reap a thousand.
You can be covered from head to toe in dirt
with no consequences.
A handful of that dirt
held close to the nose
and smelled deeply
can transport you
back in time.


All of the rows straight
and neat.
The plants placed gently in the
warm earth.
With care, the seeds
spaced evenly and covered.

In the evening
the possibility's all planted
Lighting bugs and honeysuckle
in the air.
tic, tic, tic, tic of the sprinkler

Content
But you know the work has
not yet truly begun.