Yardwork
by Stephanie Liang
Runestone, Volume 1 

 Yardwork

The overgrown weeds
                                         and wilting wisteria 
Defy the winter
                              by daring not to die—
Their seedlings spread,
                                             spring, into a mess.
Our nosy neighbors,
                                        noticing the eyesore,
Go back to minding their manicured
                                                                     lawns of majestic,
Year-round, golf-course
                                              grandiose greens.  
Our scorched land of
                                         sighing sprouts:
A burden to the serenity
                                              of the budding backyards
Of houses filled
                               with families and fathers 
With lawnmowers, a love
                                                for lawn care
That I never learned.
                                         Leaving the languishing 
Grass to weather
                                 the wintry winds
(A worry that weighs
                                        on my weary shoulders).
As I shut the window
                                        to shelter secondhand 
Thoughts of trimming 
                                           the tree branches,
Tidying the belligerent
                                            bushes to beautification, 
And your cold hands, 
                                          half-holding mine,
As the machine slows,
                                           simmers to a stop.
The grass germinates,
                                           but as a different green
To prove perhaps,
                                    without your presence
We’ll never be 
                            bothered by the weeds.