Stanley Kunitz and Me in the Garden

by Patricia Joslin

STANLEY KUNITZ AND ME IN THE GARDEN

He christened the entwined 

snakes a Wild Braid, stroked

the grit of their skin. Then

wrote a September poem

that my friend memorized.

I, too, garden in the wild.

Not a life-long agronomist

like Stanley, but a hobbyist.

An experiment in botanical

relaxation while my husband naps

after chemo. I pull weeds

as if cancer cells can be

plucked and discarded. Floral

beauty a balm. Stanley worked

the soil for almost a century.

How long will I churn

the earth in memory?

PATRICIA JOSLIN

Patricia Joslin is a poet living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her first collection, I’ll Buy Flowers Again Tomorrow: Poems of Loss and Healing, was published in 2023. Patricia’s poems have appeared in a variety of publications. Patricia is a former educator and now an active volunteer in the community, working to address issues of homelessness. Connect with her at https://www.patriciajoslin.com.