I learn these things in tiny steps,
yet suddenly it seems,
after so much effort falling short,
things in my life are starting to come green

Shortcuts I took that lost the vital nuance,
the gaps that books’ advice would not fill in,
structures that I needed to acquire
in order to successfully begin …

This lack is slowly being overcome
by working long enough to start to see,
by putting in the steady, faithful, time
and learning how things grow and what they need,
by twining my own life in with this place –
leaf, tree, and vine, and daily grace.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 3, 2023