the planter's hope

the planter's hope

a philodendron's affidavit

to God:

I will rest my leaves

against the cornice

of faith

until my green turns to brown

my wits rot

in earth's soil

eternity comes to water me the last time

and the gardener's prayer

poses heaven

as the place

for plants

to regrow into a foliage

from which angels fly

and spread most recent seeds

of faith

according to the gardener's

last wish.

erin-cilberto

6/9/25

Reviews

[Lorry]

And so the cycle of life continues.
The gardeners prayer is probably the nearest we get to childish hope that we get.
I remember as a child my little sister helping my gran planting flowers and tomatoes, along with other vegetables once and every time we visited after, she hoped to see a beanstalk shooting into the sky every time we turned into grass road!
She never did get that beanstalk but did get cuttings from her favourite plants my older sister took after her funeral, that are still going strong to this day.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate this review, Lorry....I do wish I knew one grandmother better...I didn't ever get to meet my grandmother on my mom's side. Long gone before I came into the world.
j.

[Ayesha]

Dear Jacob
Hope your planter wins the case. This wonderful poem of yours reminds me of another one from W H Auden ("Law Like Love") that uses legal language. This vegetal consciousness of the plant in your poem becomes a meditation on faith and mortality and spirituality. The plant does not remain an object of care anymore, but becomes a theological subject in its own right, bearing witness, decaying, and awaiting divine irrigation. It is a very well thought concept and a good read. Thanks for sharing. Really

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate your compehensive review, Ayesha, and I am going now to read "Law Like Love."
Thanks for that heads up.
j.