by Catherine McGuire
Today I planted.
Poked my thumb into thick, unyielding
earth, dropped tiny seeds—
zinnia, sunflower, kale.
Seeds teardrop-size, dry
seeds, brown and dead-looking
seeds too small to count.
I poked and planted; I pulled weeds
that had triumphed on my neglect.
I found I could pull thistle—that monster—
by the base, without harm.
Get the roots. Important.
But plant. Keep planting.
Don’t give up. Ever.
Catherine McGuire is a writer and artist with a deep concern for our planet's future. She has five decades of published poetry, four poetry chapbooks, a full-length poetry book Elegy for the 21st Century (FutureCycle Press), a SF novel Lifeline, and book of short stories The Dream Hunt and Other Tales (Founders House Publishing).