Golden amaltas, honeysuckle hive's delight
Guava greens, where caterpillars took flight
A sombre tall cactus, the sentinel, stood last
Beside the big neem, through which breeze and storms passed.
My girlhood garden had it all
From nine-o-clocks to four-o-clocks
Hibiscus, lilies, every shade
And a money plant that memories made.
It hugged the neem and climbed and grew
To touch the sky beyond the blue
Little leaves of pale ish green
Turned jade and large and bright within.
How it hugged and vined and changed and grew
Around the trunk, against the blue
Rooting, breathing, sipping light
Rising, becoming, seeking flight.
In quiet afternoons, of childhood winters past
Of oranges and quilts and storybooks, and us
Can I take you to such places, the wonderings of my mind
Like the magic money plant that went to touch a sky.
...
