Ode to a Yard by Barbara Leonhard

Photo © Barbara Leonhard

Ode to a Yard

The backyard, now a room.

The teeming branches

of the pin oak, red bud,

and elm stretch into a canopy.

We leave part of the lawn alone

to sow a meadow. Violets, clover,

dandelions. Tall patches of native grass

go to seed. Periwinkle blushes

on the yard’s borders.

Gardening tools laze about

atop a disheveled log.

The garden soil, dry, still not tilled.

The metal spikes that held last year’s tomatoes linger,

supporting withered stalks.

Clustering around the far edge,

a thick crop of never-fail oregano.

Elsewhere, batches of volunteer kale

surprise us.

On the garden's edge, a hose lies coiled

ready to strike.

Inside on a counter, seed packets sit

waiting for soil and sun.

© Barbara Leonhard

Barbara Leonhard is the author of Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir and co-author of Too Much Fun to Be Legal. Her poetry has received awards and honors from Well-Versed 2021 and Spillwords Press. She’s a nominee for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Trending Poets named her Poet of the Year 2023. Some of her poems have been translated into Italian, Albanian, and Chinese. Barbara is the Editor for MasticadoresUSA, the Co-Poetry Editor for LatinosUSA-English Edition, and the Editor for her literary journal, FEED THE HOLY. Her blog: Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver.