Home Garden

I bought packages of seeds for a garden
I've always wanted an asparagus garden.
When I was a child asparagus grew wild
on the hill across the street.
Early every morning I picked sprouts.
The package says it's worth the effort
and waiting three years for a crop.
But then the bed is permanent
with a crop for twenty years.
I spaded and pulverized the soil.
We'd plant a garden on Mother's Day.
Broccoli, squash and muskmelon,
cucumbers, cauliflower and asparagus.
Sunflowers, zinnias, and marigolds.
We'd make a garden this year.
The children would have asparagus in adulthood,
like the pecan tree
my daddy planted when I was a child.
I waited till noon. Plans changed.
The children' won't be coming home
for Mother's Day. In my hands
I hold twelve packages of seeds.


From my cookbook, The Supper Club,© 1985, Rozanne.

This one was for sauces, vegetables, soup, and sandwiches: