I think of an old friend who loved to work the garden.
He loved the early morning but would go about his desire
no matter what the time and when he looked at it if
it was pleasing to him then he was satisfied.
He didn’t get involved to win awards or acclamation
for his inner being is where the satisfaction existed.
He was tireless but did take time to rest and even
took naps during the heat of the day.
Little animals around the garden were his friends.
He never worried about them because
they would never do any harm.
He liked having them there and would often
ask them for approval. He didn’t need it
but was generous in the giving spirit.
He clipped and trimmed and his efforts always
resulted in a “canvas” that any artist would be proud of.
He slowed down as the years advanced and
one year put his tools away for good.
He had emptied himself and had nothing left to give.
The garden and landscape still looked good for a few years
until the weeds finally took over. His little friends
missed his chatter, but somehow you had the feeling
that they understood. There is a lot we don’t know
about animals and their relationship with us.
We seem to have that superior feeling and can dismiss
important relationships with a blink of an eye.
The “Garden-man” died a few years later.
The little friends disappeared to go on with their instinctive living.
The old man was also a poet and had many poems
about his garden, the animals and life in general.
Those who had a chance to read them grew to know
the soul of the gardener. It was hard to separate
his words from his plantings for they amounted to
the same thing to him. He saw nature, worked with it
even when difficult and saw the outcome of his efforts.
He knew he had been a caretaker and now
he was with the real Gardener. His poetry told
this story in a way that was very settling and
instructive to those reading it. We have no say.
We just open up to be guided by that hand
which holds so much promise. His life was really a sermon
and could be told over and over and always remain fresh.
Stanski
September 3, 2020 ^
Steve Haarman 