Christer Karlstad " Force Field " - " Motherlode "

 

" Force Field "

Christer Karlstad

" Motherlode "

Christer Karlstad

***

" The rue survived;

The rue and the bitter Hyssop.

Remembered sorrow can survive the bitterest cold.

But the lovely lemon thyme

Lost it's life in the stone-hard ground,

Its delicate roots shriveled for lack of warmth.

Some of the herbs are coming back:

Hardy horehound, lemon balm and the astringent

Bee balm,

That western Bergamot

Whose faintly medicinal fragrance

mormon ladies used to scent their handkerchief

Boxes:

Schooled in hardship

It drove its roots deep underground

And waited out the winter.

Now tough and durable,

It makes its way to the sun.

Stray tendrils of mint wandering far from their beds,

Battening on earthworm castings,

smothered the sage.

Mint it fine on lamb,

But it takes the pungency of sage

To give any flavor to an Albertson turkey.

Nothing can stop the thyme. Never say that thyme

must have a stop.

The tansy is shouting hallelujas of joy

For Easter coming, and of course

Jonquils and crocuses and grape hyacinths

Never have given a damn.

Cold snow or warm rain,

Spring is spring, and

Damn the elements. Full speed ahead.

And

It's early yet.

Some roots may still be asleep

Warm and safe and lazy

Waiting for May. Or June.

Or maybe the Second Coming. "

Nancy Stringfellow

" Report from Grimes Creek After a Hard Winter "

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