At the time of spring, the flowers come up

Some frozen iris, some buttercup

The lilies, daffodils, hawthorn, that’s new

All grow in my garden, starting at half-past two

No, I’m not counting, I just happen to know

That at 2:31 on May 1st the first bloom starts to grow

I run outside in my pajamas to see

The little green buds, small as can be

I grab the watering can from the shelf

And tip-toe around, like a little elf

I water them gently, using great care

In hopes that my flowers soon will be there

The sun shines all day, I watch the buds

I’ve got nothing to do, I sit in the mud

In rain or in shine, I stare at my plants

I’ll wait ‘till they grow, I squint askance

Sometimes I see little bitty ones

Sometimes I guess which are daughters or sons

But, alas, I’ll never know why

I garden this way, not ‘till I die

Once more, I go to grab the watering can,

But when I come back, the plants are all tan!

I see only one flower, the rest are all gone

They’ve taken their plant families and walked off with a song

I take the first bloom tenderly in my palm

I take it inside, pot it, tell it to stay calm

I try to garden, but with my luck

The first bloom is the only one to stay up!

2/23/22