the most important thing

photo by shf

i couldn’t stop with the jade plant and then i couldn’t stop

with the young ponderosa pine that my neighbor gave me after

thinning the woods then i couldn’t stop with the day lilies

the two whose stems hadn’t broken into full petal fails from the heat

and then I couldn’t stop with the hollyhocks which had slumped overnight

after yesterday’s haywires when all I could do left them thirsty

and me forgetful

then i couldn’t stop there and pulled the hose over to the black oak

and the ice plants that have taken hold around it and the barrel of thyme

which is so brave and green that i should quarter some potatoes

and chop some rosemary too and use the air fryer for sensibility’s sake and

now the hose is tipped toward the spreading roots of the persimmon tree

because i want to see those melon-colored leaves come november

and pluck the fruit bubbling into being against the odds

then the older dog upends the water bowl and i say dammit

you little troublemaker and i taste the stinking regurgitation of sweat

in my voice and recall the drive to get things done early which meant

running I-5 at eighty the thirty miles south for groceries before it hits

ninety and propping up the misting fan in the car for the dogs

so I can run in and then speed back up to the farm

for Sisters of the Pen at ten knowing I still haven’t watered

and then i ditch the Zoom for the most important thing

photo by shf