Overgrown

31/07/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



To be completely honest

I’d let the garden go.

It was too much work.

What with being a mum

And working full time

And having my mother live with us

There just wasn’t enough

Time or energy left at the end of the day

To make time for the poor garden

And it did look so neglected.

If I could have paid someone

To come in a mow the lawn

Or trim the trees,

Perhaps to a bit of weeding,

I would have jumped at the chance

But the purse strings were tight

And anything bar food and utilities

Was a frivolous spend right now.

So, the grass grew too long.

The weeds were out of control.

The trees hung branches over the fence.

Then it happened.

Not just to me but to everyone.

The world stopped.

Work closed up.

The pubs shut, the cafes closed.

And I was stuck in my house

Staring out at my sad looking garden

Wondering what I was going to do.

Then it struck me – here was my chance.

Not to pay someone to fix my garden

But to fix it myself, to be productive.

So, I put on my boots and gloves

And pulled out the secateurs,

Barely used this past year.

I got to work, pruning and trimming,

Mowing the lawn and tidying the edges,

And weeding the flower beds

Until it looked like a garden again And not the unruly, overgrown mess it was.