When will it be time to plant again?
When will it be time to plant again?
When will it be time to plant again?
When will the risk of frost pass
so seeds can safely shed their coats?
When will the earth be welcoming?
Today the sun is bright.
We all run out to feel its warmth.
Is it time? we wonder, yearning
to see the slender sprouts
elbow the dark aside,
raise their tiny green flags,
and stake their claim.
Elizabeth Steinglass
For most plants I think the answer to the question is not yet. One exception is apparently lettuce which prefers cooler weather. So that is what we planted last Thursday. I’ve never done this before, but I simply couldn’t wait. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I hope you are all hanging in there and that you and yours are well and safe. I am feeling especially appreciative to have poetry which grounds me and connects me to all of you.
Happy Poetry Friday. Tabatha has the round up at The Opposite of Indifference.
Liz
I have had the urge to plant, too, but I need potting soil and I am ? about getting some. I esp. like “When will the earth be welcoming?” and “elbow the dark aside.” I misread your ending as “stake their calm,” which seems accurate given how much we want to grow things!
That is a perfect misreading!
Poetry has been my lifeline, too, Liz. And friends who connect with it – and me! I especially liked your last verse in this – and those pushy little elbows! And flags.
Thanks, Kat, I’ve so appreciated connecting more these last few weeks.
I really like the nice easy feel of this…seeds shedding their coats in the warm sun, elbowing dark aside. Is the photo of your lettuce? Woot! I’m craving planting too. Although, I’m not a very good tender of my plants, historically. I too am grateful for the poetry community. It does help me feel connected. I so appreciate that.
Yes, this is our lettuce. I hope it’s okay out there. I need to read a little more today to see if there’s something I should be doing. : )
We’ve had much warm weather, then the skies cloud up, the temp drops & snow again. Your query feels just right for March, a feeling that has ballooned during this time so many are at home, wishing to do something! I love that final verse, Liz, the “elbow the dark aside”. Wishing you & yours continuing good health!
Our weather has been inconsistent also. That’s spring for you. Wishing you and yours continuing good health too!
I forget sometimes that the rest of the country is still struggling with a risk of frost. It’s supposed to be in the 90s here for the next four days! I do so enjoy reading about these tender little sprouts, though, just doing what they do best. This poem, too, has been on a journey to earn its rightful place in the world. 🙂
Thanks, Michelle, and north of here the risk of frost will last even longer. We do most planting here around Mother’s Day.
So happy to see a few tiny green flags staking their claim outside. I’ve done a little planting, but it’s all indoors to get a little jump on the weather.
I was thinking about trying to plant a few more lettuce seeds in the house where pests can’t get them. I’ve never done this before so everything’s an experiment.
Thanks for ‘planting’ this poem for us, Liz. Love the image of ‘tiny green flags’ and how they ‘stake their claim’. I, too, feel appreciative for the connection of this community. 🙂
It’s always a little tricky figuring out when to plane, isn’t it, with frost unpredictable. Your poem reminds me of a garden we had when I was a child. I loved seeing tomatoes and pumpkins grow. I hope yours flourishes this year.
Oh the sureness of growth from the sun and the soil. We are being given a gift during this Corona Virus time, if we try to wrap our minds around some messages that may be coming our way. What really counts? What really matters? What really helps? And I do agree. I am so grateful for my poetry friends, poems, poets, poetry experiences and this world of Poetry Friday. So good to connect with you, Liz. Hope the sun is shining and you and yours stay healthy. My prayers and heart go out to all those affected and worse, challenged beyond belief, by this horrible virus. Hugs to you.
I’m trying to figure out what to do about our community garden at school. I do so want to plant…but not by myself. I want kids there to be messy and inaccurate and enthusiastic and loud. Sigh…
Oh yes, we planted lettuce and spinach and sugar snap peas on Thursday (It must have been a good day for plantng). Now I’m eagerly looking for the first sprouts so I can put cages around them before the deer discover them.
Yes, I had to plant this week also. For several years I’ve had good luck planting and growing salad turnips, which taste a bit like radishes and are not easy to find. This week I planted my one pkg of seeds in my 1/2barrel planters, but when I checked on them I see that a squirrel has been in there, mucking about. Digging big craters. Making a mess. So I don’t know what luck I will have this year, but… I certainly understand your wish to get something started, to watch it grow and to nurture it. I love you poem… the tiny green flags elbowing their way … thanks!