Guard them gardenz

by Sue Spiers

Rockz in the rock-garden grew greyish.

Rain washed its zoil patchez underground.

Only one plant thrived and its rootz went deep.

That patch under the dining room zill needed colour,

zomething soft as zummer cloudz,

elegant as cranez.

Rockz were dumped in a skip, rootz ripped,

compozt and top zoil filled their gapz.

Bee bombz from Dorzet duly scattered,

we waited

and waited, zearching for zight of zlight

buddingz: pink zinnia, rozy clover, ox-eye,

zedum, zalvia, zolidago in profusion –

wildflowers bright and scented zinging.

Zuch was the rush, sheer humming vizitation.

Lightly, delightedly the gardens all sprung

scintillating patchez, borderz, potz –

wellz of welcome.

Inspiration: One of my first published (The interpreter’s House) poems was around bee ecology, based on a Times Supplement article on the decline of the bumble bee. I have a hardback copy of Carol Ann Duffy’s The Bees with its honeycomb design on the cover. So, I have a long-term affinity with the plight of the bee and I love that my neighbourhood has little plots of wildflowers that spring up with wonderful colours to encourage bee multiplication. I substituted some of the ‘s’s for ‘z’s to have the sound, through the poem, of buzzing.

Image by Tim Hill from Pixabay

Sue Spiers lives in Hampshire. Her poetry has appeared in Acumen, 14 Magazine, Dreich and Stand and on-line at The High Window and Ink, Sweat & Tears. Sue is active with the Open University Poets, T’Articulation, Winchester Muse, Winchester Poetry Festival and Mensa Poetry Special Interest Group. Sue tweets @spiropoetry.