In the autumn garden, I learned
how to shovel the heavy, clay soil, one
boot pressed to the lip, an effort
down and in, bearing all my body
until finally the sod split in release.
I learned where on the land
the rains gather and will not
drain, leaving soggy plots where
no children could play or run,
but where the mower stuck in mud.
In the front gardens, I learned
of the neighbors’ always watchful
eyes, as I struggled unstable over
paths with the wheelbarrow, while
tallying each forkful of straw on the bed.
And the bulbs and roots left in frozen
ground gave golden mosaics of daffodils
and shades of violet bearded irises,
rising to meet me in April, alone
among the quickening buds of lilacs.
Laura Schwartz is a public librarian in Geneva, Indiana, a small town along the Wabash River surrounded with remnants of the Limberlost Wetlands. She spends much of her time surrounded by books or exploring the nearby nature preserves. Laura graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington with a BA in Comparative Literature and has always enjoyed reading and writing poetry. She attended the University of Texas at Austin, studying Library Science. In more recent years, she has participated in several writing workshops in Indiana, including three poetry workshops led by former Indiana Poet Laureate, Shari Wagner.