The Garden, Wild, Belmont, Lyme

Abstract

The balcony of knowledge Overlooking the lawn, On whose perimeter the trail starts In several places, The voluptuous sloping, slipping hillside Forever winding and interwoven with paths That interlock at rare species Or wintering colonials, That somehow flower occasionally Like colonels, Or not at all, as the case may be, Odd species unnamed to the untutored eye, The long languid leaves of loquat Odd shapes, that trigger strange thoughts The rare orchid or two nestling under Heady trees that have survived the storms, And the attentions of various gardeners Now respond to Glaswegian* tones of endearment, So different from the past doctors' prescriptions. And yet within this walled paradise The chance to admire without naming, The feeling of freedom to roam The literal litoral path Observed and observing An oasis of thought, a small jungle Beneath whose trees, the mind wanders. Glimpses and glimpses again A small flower out of season