Garden

My teacher told me,

"Everyone has a plot of land, 

and you can find out a lot about them 

by seeing how they tend to it." 

---

I wonder what 

you'd learn if you 

saw the garden I tend to: 

a small wooden gate 

swings easily open 

(don't worry about the latch, 

it's never closed);

small paths of

earth well-traveled

wind around patches of 

greenery into which

towering dahlias 

and carnations paired 

with the soft brush of 

wildflowers grow 

tamely; 

in the center of it all 

stands a single rowan tree 

holding onto its 

ruby berries, 

two benches planted 

at its roots
(you're welcome to sit and stay).

But maybe your eyes will travel
to the locked gate behind the
rowan that leads to a shaded
thicket and a trickling stream that you
can hear but can't see; 

covered in vines 

and old with rust, 

towering over the heads of those 

that approach it, 

most are content in the 

primness of the flowers and have 

never seeked a way in.

If I gave you the key, 

would you explore it

and try to find me there?