Return of the Gardener

[bi_janus]

Return of the Gardener

Bi Janus

The mild surprise,

unconcealable,

almost out the door

between the legs,

a sly pup

pulled back by its tail,

shame-faces

put right

with smiles.

No card to pass

around this time.

You’re looking better,

not so drawn,

a succulent suffused—

epidemiologists ask,

steroidal edema

masking wasting?

The pruning’s

long done.

Now, the poison

for the nematodes

mixed and spread.

The little buggers,

cut in half,

become two each.

In the present case

eradication

is the homicidal cure,

and a flowery

shrub reprieve

is what you take,

a tenuous balance

among things,

proper and not,

growing in the soil.

The bed’s

put right as rain

one more time.

Back to anthrax,

pertussis and E. coli,

influenza churning

through unremarked,

disaster an

intellectual puzzle.

Marshal some strength,

planting season

approaches.

[Camy]

Umm. What I can say is that this poem, and nearly all of your poems, gently fry my brain. Lucky I am there's Wikipedia, otherwise I'd need a bookshelf full of reference material. Is it real gardening or an allegory of something darker? Do I care? Possibly, and it frustrates. That last night I dreamt of gardening is worrying, too.

[bi_janus]

Well, I'm back at work this week. My co-workers are always mildly surprised when I show up after a bout. There's the moment of surprise quickly replaced by solicitude. As to gardening, I think it a fair metaphor for many experiences with cancer therapy. Now, I am shame-faced at I driving you to Wikipedia and garden dreams. Better I should drive you to your garden.

[colinian]

It's a very powerful statement, bi_janus. I'm constantly amazed at the power and meaning in your poems.

You have a story on Nifty that some here might not know about. It's Rebound, and I am totally hooked. It's here.

Colin ;icon_geek:

[bi_janus]

Thank you, Colin.