In The Garden

Poem and photo by Julianna Waters
The Portland Upside
January 2010

Winter calls even the angels,
first to the dark
then the light,
gently,
preparing the soil,
inciting buried
seed, bulb and root
to head up.

Let’s head up.
Let’s wriggle and push our newness
through the dark pages of
December,
of January, then
into the transparent light of February,
March.

Let’s reach, pale green,
out of all that is moist and
necessary
for that sweet smell of a
lilac spring day,
and meet the angels there.
in the garden.
laughing.


Julianna Waters is a therapist and writer who lives in Portland with her husband, terrier and two cats. She’s an award winning songwriter, co-founder of Heart and Hammer Music, and lives for long, slow walks in wild places. She can be reached through: http://heartandhammer.com