Our Wilderness

Our garden is a green wilderness,
an overgrown, tangled wildness,
where cats stalk zoetic shadows
and deer graze freely beneath willows;
dragonflies dart between clumps of nettles,
ladybirds wander and butterflies settle.
No flowers are tamed or lined up in rows;
it’s rampant with honeysuckle and rambling rose.
Ancient quince, plum and apple tumble from trees,
we never pick them, we leave that to the breeze,
and we share them with squirrels, birds and field mice
in our verdant back of beyond paradise.

Kim M. Russell, 25th July 2018

My response to Poets United Midweek Motif: Wilderness

Sumana is hosting this Wednesday’s Midweek Motif with quotations from Edward Abbey and Tacitus, as well as poems by Audrey Hepburn, Carl Sandburg and Wallace Stevens.

She says that this week we are going away from our frenzied, civilized lives and into the wilderness, places untrammeled by man. She adds that we might also discover a bit of wilderness or traces of the wild in cities and people. She asks if wilderness is a place, an instinct or an idea? She wants to know how wilderness makes us feel and to share some wilderness moments in our poems.

20 thoughts on “Our Wilderness”

  5. sounds a bit like where I am – the “wildlife” rules the roost, no point in trying to deny it, or keep it for ourselves, we’re the interlopers … but damn, sometimes it’s a bit frustrating when the deer come by in the night, (hoping the dogs won’t scent them) and chomp the wild (but planted by us) roses! Argh! LOL – then I tell myself – well, they’ve done the dead-heading for me – LOL …

    I really love this piece Kim. You’ve said so much about it – the natural, the wild gardens, with minimal “hands on” – and how we reap the benefits even if we don’t sow as much!

    And these lines:

    No flowers are tamed or lined up in rows;
    it’s rampant with honeysuckle and rambling rose.
    Ancient quince, plum and apple tumble from trees,
    we never pick them, we leave that to the breeze,

    simply delicious – I love the pulse of this poem!

    and “zoetic” is a new to me word – how interesting 🙂

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    1. Thanks Pat. When I wanted a word to describe the effect of the leaves in the sun, it thought of the old-fashioned zoetropes, the pre-film animation devices I loved. They had a great selection at the Museum of the Moving Image. So I had to look up whether there was an adjective related to them – and there was!

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  8. kaykuala

    we never pick them, we leave that to the breeze,
    and we share them with squirrels, birds and field mice
    in our verdant back of beyond paradise.

    It is amazing to see that humans are the worst offenders in neglecting or ignoring such blessings. There is payback time that nature itself will impose. It is just that humans are not aware! Incisive thoughts Kim!

    Hank

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  10. This gives the impression of a wild, untamed habitat – that could also provide shelter to small wildlife such as frogs, squirrels etc. Oh, I wish I was not living in an apartment…. Such a beautoful poem, Kim. I love this!

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