Lesson For Mary Poem by Pablo Cruise

In the corner of the yard where the leaning red stained fence,
Converged with the chain link line
Where a lone fig and a singular prickly pear struggled,
To convince that caliche ground
Under the quartered shade of that undesirable orange tree,
Fret those ragged berries veiling their unripe offspring
No symmetry, no orchestration
Here in Mary’s garden
Only contemplations
Through the careless steps of children
As they rambled on their knees
Garbage cans strewn on the tentacled runners
Reducing the illusory harvest by three
With the blast of the summer bearing down
On the wither they expose
No daily routine, no constant attention
Here with Mary
There’s hardly a mention
On mounds of disparage
Their roots shoot through rocks and clay
A willingness to strive in such complications,
Sleeve their leaves of everday
In the sight of a spigot
Where the answers trickle free
No touch, no tender
Mary just recedes
Whatever her reasons
Be it time, desire or purpose
Mary’s garden hailed from the edge
Never a topic or reason to engage,
Only a curious arrangement
The wonder of her inclination is all that remains,
In the mind of one sowed
Straining to regain