Lisheen’s Garden by Patricia McCue

Image | Irina Iriser

Lisheen’s Garden

Lisheen, 

Grandma from Sligo,

who put down roots in

Brooklyn, then the Bronx,

always had a beautiful garden.

 

On her small city lot,

under the clothesline,

rows of zinnias,

orange, pink, and yellow,

patiently waited for shears,

bouquet-ready.

 

White roses, not so willing,

clung to her silver chain link fence,

a fragrant welcome.

 

Columbine was 

her perennial favorite,

lush and unassuming,

a perfect ground cover,

green with flecks of purple.

It reminded her of back home.

 

I once helped her plant

a large cotton mat

embedded with wildflower seeds.

We watered it, waited 

and watched as blooms

emerged -

a proud moment for ten-year-old me 

in Lisheen’s garden.

© Patricia McCue

Patricia McCue

Patricia McCue is a retired teacher of middle school science. Her poems have appeared in Woods Reader, Poetry Breakfast, Nature of Our Times and various anthologies.  In her free time she studies and plays Traditional Irish Music on the violin.

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