in my garden

when nothing else will do
when the peace just will not come
when fires rage inside my bones
when breathing is my labor
there is only one place
where my spirit finds itself
there in the midst of my garden
the world is right again

the roses smile gently
a myriad of color
red & orange
yellow & white
the sweetest shade of purple
all with their own aromatic signatures

the thorns will rip my skin
if i try to move too fast
as if to say
slow down
we're here to share our bounty

even as the blood trickles down my arms
or the sting of a bee disturbed
a bug up my nose
a burr in my foot
matters not

there in my garden
life shows itself to me
in softness, in grace
in splendid
harmony

my garden is my sanctuary
when nothing else will do
i thank sweet mother
and father sun
for the gifts of life renewed