The Temporal Garden

SPRING

A shiver of lavender 

yawns in the quiet morning 

under rose-blushed clouds. 

Honeybees trapeze their blue stems 

and laddering leaves

with little legs and pollen-puffed feet.

The working day has begun.

The cherry blossom petals

whisper on a jasmine breeze

easing through the daffodils

as the youthful butterfly

spies the blooming magnolia.

A glimpse of the hyacinth

rivals the crocuses and snowdrops

in the waking earth.

High in the trees, the lark and

blackbird’s fruitful song accompanies

the common toad croaking 

from an upturned clay pot.

Daisies trace a carefree path

into a body that breathes

with the prospect of new life.

SUMMER

Dahlias gasp after July rain,

their water-logged petal pods

globes of shimmering light. 

Below, the parched soil sighs

in relief from steady water

spilling from the oily leaves

of a fragrant fuchsia rose.

Sweet hydrangeas entice

the hopeful aphid and passing deer.

The newt and dragonfly 

relish in the pond water

warmed by the temperate air

where the free-floating lotus

houses the spider-mite larvae.

The grass-snake basks 

in the blazing sun 

by thickets of wildflower

hiding a cacophony of crickets.

Badgers lap up honey-sap

and lick at the sticks 

of the red-ant hill

while the mosquitos mill

in their evening frenzy.

AUTUMN

In the spherical safety 

of its hedgerow nest, 

the dormouse mouse snores

and hugs its paws.

Ripe conkers and acorns 

excite the bushy-tailed squirrel

wandering the branches

of the rustic oak tree.

The timid hedgehog rustles

underneath copper maple leaves

and chews on beetle legs. 

Bonfire colours illuminate

the ground where crows peck

at worms curious to rent  

the fallen apple carcasses.

Rotting bark hosts the

spotted red fungus and

clusters of perky mushrooms.

Above, the barn owls’

hoot, staring longingly 

into the whistling wind

of the oncoming night.

WINTER

The naked limbs of the 

chestnut tree betray

the flash of the robin’s

flaming belly. Holly leaves

offer their berries to

the hungry thrush and 

mistletoe kisses the hawthorn.

The dark twilight ushers

in a morning frost which 

turns the wet grass to 

crinkling starlight underfoot

and the spiderwebs into

matrices of silver.

In the evergreen shadows,

the adolescent fox searches

for the scent of the

hibernating vole while

deep underground, the mole

diligently waits to emerge 

into the safety of the 

sleeping December darkness.