This spring, I purchased a plot in the community garden a mile from my apartment. It's my experiment, my teacher, and my mirror. It's a microcosm that is still so much larger than me.

Go to the garden.
I have been to the vegetable patch
and have been nourished in turn.
The fruits of this earth will keep you alive,
but it is the flowers that will heal you.

Go to the garden.
There is so much to learn
from beautiful things whose pragmatism is hidden.
We all have a purpose
and none of us are here just for looks.

Go to the garden.
Watch as nature give thanks
for the pollen and bloom that feeds a neighbor.
The things that do not nourish us
can still keep our communities alive.