Linda gave the Inklings a most generous and lovely prompt for this month: “Use this poem by Joy Harjo as a mentor text in any way that makes your heart happy.” Thank you, Linda. My heart is, indeed, happy!
Here’s what the other Inklings did with this month’s challenge:
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Patricia has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup at Reverie.
A(nother) Year of Reading 
Beautiful ending of hope, I’ll hold on to her, thanks Mary Lee!
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The October garden needed an ode! Thank you for honoring the gifts that have already been given and the deep roots that will bring about its return.
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Well, this is simply lovely. The dusty zinnias did indeed have a whole cycle before this point, and hold now in their brown stems the promise of “someday” and “again.”
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Love love love your poem! Garden as a metaphor for life. Last stanza is brilliant. 🙂
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I love this poem. It makes me look at my ragged garden and see the lone zinnia still bright red in bloom. I especially love “flourishing is hard work.” In my daily work teaching challenging students, I am trying to let go of my high expectations. It’s hard work! I need more time to look at the garden and be present.
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Amen to “Flourishing is hard work!”
I like your idea, Mary Lee, that with deep roots, we can find it in ourselves to believe in springtime. Beautiful!
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Oh my YES! Flourishing IS hard work! But just when I want the pity party, your October garden shows up and I’m shamed into the realization that the world is working as hard as it can — so I guess I need to also! Thank you for the kick in the pants, Mary Lee –lol
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On this reading, “between/in the clover and in the weeds” stood out for both cleverness and the essence of fluctuation between…
green and green. Genius.
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Well, you may see that I’ve been out in my garden, no veggies, but flowers, and now leaves! I chuckled at “Flourishing is hard work.” a profound one-liner for sure, and we do all know Shelley confirms that ending “to believe in springtime” for you!
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I really love “ragged around the edges” and “flourishing is hard work.” We are all spent, aren’t we?
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Mary Lee, your photos share my feeling of what happened! Looking ragged but still flourishing is what my garden looks like also. Come to think of it this is what my house looks like after the little girls Halloween party. I’m glad that you still have it in you to find springtime in your heart.
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This is a poem that offers rewards each time I read it–rather like the rewards of taking time to view your garden at any season. There are so many lines that resonate, many of which have already been identified in previous comments. I still love that “tattered curtain of fennel” and the clever layers of “in the clover and in the weeds.” Well done!
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Mary Lee, what a powerful talking to your October Garden this is. I love the comparison to you. Your first stanza is even more powerful and true a week after you posted it. Peace to you!
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