Donations, in lieu of flowers, in memory and celebration of Janet Fisher (13/6/43 - 11/4/16)

LIFE AND OTHER TERMS
I split autumn perennials,
layer rhododendrons for spring,
lashed by winds,
lacking even good bones
against the virtues of age.

With full hands
I pull at heels of rosemary,
lad’s love sweet and sad,
bitter rue and yarrow.
Geraniums on the patio
turned out like children to get the sun;
the faint green of old bottles
wait for something to be done with them,

and I see living’s a job like any other,
that there are no true and perfect implements
to trim the edges, only working usages, like knives.