April 10, 2010; revised March 29, 2015
By the barely greening side yard pecan,
crepe myrtle and magnolia grace
the Southern small-town spring.
Paradise is a pool of cool air infused
with essence of mown grass
and the scent of sweet Carolina jessamine,
where a mockingbird-freight train duet
weaves the Sunday morning sermon
as an old dog ambles to the edge
of his chain-link fence. Sensing
stranger, he barks without conviction.
From the unseen center, church
bells carry hymns of hope to
whoever wanders
a fresh apparition of Eden.
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| Carolina jessamine, "Gelsemium sempervirens3" by KENPEI. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons |
