It’s not the cool coast of California
with cypress leaning leeward, but
the tomatoes and squash love
this year’s pleasant inland temperatures,
unaware of summer in the San Joaquin.
We, on the other hand, cringe
ahead of time, remembering so vividly
that it spoils our vacation. But nowadays,
we never know what’s coming, which
unwritten script awaits in ambush.
Escaping to the garden, hopefully I
bloom with our optimistic vegetables,
imagining tasty, blue ribbon fruit—
careful not to be so careless
as to step on a rattlesnake.
drycrikjournal 