Poem of the Week

In an effort to draw more people to the site (Hi Romy!), I've given my poem a title bound to turn up in a web search or two ...

Dirty Words
March 12, 2008

I am on my knees in my garden,
madly in love with dirt: dirt dark
as dreams, dirt damp with dew,
deep, deep dirt drawing me into mud.
This good dirt, this dirt of my garden,
will make food grow. From this dirt
comes carrots and garlic and kale,
swiss chard and snap peas and spearmint.
This good dirt, this dirt of my garden,
covers my hands and knees and gets
between my toes. This good dirt breathes.

I want to wallow in words this way,
warm them, water them, watch
them grow wild and willful.
I want to feed you with poetry,
off rhymes ripe from the vine,
sell synonyms sweet as cinnamon
from a fruit stand on a farm road,
a farm road beside a fallow field
full of good dirt, deep, deep dirt,
where you will find me on my knees
in my garden, madly in love with words.