Grass is wordless here
Fruit trees and saplings
barely outlive August
Roses, their vines twisting
through arboretums,
give migrating birds
berries to eat
and a resting place
There are good and bad years
for rows of corn
along the rear fence
Squirrels gnaw ripe tomatoes
early mornings in stretching shadows
before the juiciest ones
can be been picked and sliced
on heirloom platters
In these parts
they are welcome to them