This garden tending
is not a facile thing —
The easy steps
are undermined
by tough complexities:
Slugs decapitate my seedlings,
Cats make them casualties
of their hygiene

I provided, each time,
what I knew seedlings needed —
moisture-holding mulch,
light, smooth soil —
each of which then also brought
these unintended consequences

But I will not give up.
It is required of me
that I learn more and more
until I know enough
to put things into balance,
Which I can only gain
with deep attention.
It is fair that I,
like every living thing
should pay this price for life.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 10, 2014