Green Grass in the Street Cracks, Dry Grass in the Yard
72
Like a twisted analogy...
You lie a few feet out in front of me...
Green Grass that stretches out before the hot noon day Sun...
While in my yard...I stand on grass that is burnt to a crisp...exceedingly well-done.
Like some kind'a strange messed-up metaphor...
You are back to turning brown this Summer...yet worse then before.
Oh, Yard...that I have fertilized...and watered to no end...
Why couldn't you stay...just a little green...or try and at least to pretend ?
It is neither of our faults...that there was no rain...
Obviously...your days out in the relentless heat...have caused you some pain.
Yet look...just a few inches from where you up and died...and called it quits.
There is a beautiful line of green grass...and between the street cracks is where it sits.
It knows no shade...and gets pummeled by tires endlessly...
It is as green as the New Born-Spring...I tell ya'...undeniably.
I look at you...and remember all the work upon you...and the trips to Home Depot...
And wonder why you can't be as green as the grass out in the street...I honestly don't know.
You've been pruned and groomed, with great care...I purchased great things for you...
The grass out in the cracks has only been given leftover motor oil...and looks better than you do !
Crazy...Crazy...this planet is...in some ways...
The grass out in the Street...sits unprotected from the heat...for all its days...
Yet...my poor little yard...just a few feet from the Street cracks filled with green grass...
Has sadly burned to brown...Why can't it be more like you...is that too much to ask?
We look to things and they don't make sense...
They say the grass is always greener...on the other side of the fence.
But please...I'm looking down from above...or at least from the street curb...
And seeing that the grass that has it harder then my yard is better...I'm a little preturbed !
In the Cold of Winter...I raked you with gentle care...
With each brown spot upon you...I stood vigilant and aware.
Now look...after all my hard work...when I should see results from what I've done...
The Street Grass is stronger then you...when it stays worse then you...everyday...out in the Sun.
Imagine the heat...Imagine the abuse...
I want my grass to be like it...That's the grass I choose !
You are weak...Oh, Yard of mine...
I will replant you with the street grass this next Springtime.
There are better things to do...then to baby you...
You never appreciate me anyways...after all you put me through.
There is a lesson here for me...
Of the Green Street Grass...that I have begun to see.
Not much further away...sits a plot of grass that I have tended and I spoil...
It stood strong and green through the toughest times...and with very little soil.
There is a lesson...there has to be...a lesson there for me...
Perhaps...that things fend better for themselves...when we just let them be ...!?!
Copyright © 2011 All Rights Reserved for "Green Grass in the Street Cracks, Dry Grass in the Yard".
The title that I chose for this poem...made me think. It sounds like the title to something I have heard in a song...something very familiar...Oh, of course...
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful
- Funny
- Awesome (1)
- Beautiful (1)
- Interesting (1)
CommentsLoading...
Rosemay50: Our area has been hit hard with a drought. Droughts Happen...at least in Texas they do. In Houston...we usually benefit in a strange way from all the coastal storms. This year??? But...now that watering of yards has been restricted by the City...and my yard's fate is truly in the hands of the elements...with no more great assistance by me...why can't it be like the marvelously green grass in the street crack...just inches away from within the borders of my yard. It is odd...all day in the heat...no fertilizer...nothing but cars and bikes running over it...yet...still green! Odd...yet seemingly poetic...as well! Thank you for your commenting on this one...and for stopping in for a read. I appreciate it very much! Best Regards, Signed, MPM
Rosemay50 states: "Seems to me that this is much like children, cosset them too much and they won't grow strong and survive life's hardships."
Wow...dead-on analogy, Rosemay50...Thanks for adding your wise comment to this! Signed, MPM
I think the grass over the fence grew there just to torment you. Perhaps it has something to do with whatever water it does get doesn't drain away as it does in your soil. It gets the same here in summer no matter how much you water the grass still dries out. It always amazes me that plants don't survive very long without water but oh boy those weeds sure don't need water to grow.
Rosemay50: We kill the weeds...and they are still green and standing strong...through the hard times. There has to be some strange metaphor in there somewhere...
You are so creative! What an adorable analogy about grass. As always I love your work! Just stopping by to say hello. Can you figure out who I am? :D
Hi Steve...You continue to amaze me with your affinity with the earth and its abundant life...Not only is your poetry witty and humorous, but chock full of natural insights and wisdom that makes me look deeper on my second read...
Only a poet with a focused imagination would consider observing, relating, and praising the resiliency of street grass...To " only been given leftover motor oil " is a quiet tribute to its survival... I wonder if that street grass were somehow transplanted to your yard, fed fertilizer, trimmed and watered regularly, would continue its struggle for life..? Or would it become accustomed to the care and feeding and when challenged with an extended drought, curl up and die..?
I read this during my morning coffee outside and found myself glancing at the encroaching weeds we have accumulated following our recent monsoon season...Should I spare them and appreciate their tenacity, or break-out the weed-eater and mow em' down..? See what you have done !! You have given weeds a personality...How can anyone kill a personality...
My wife will just say that is a piss poor rationalization to get out of cleaning up the yard...Larry
whiteorchids: Hey...I believe I know ya'...but not for sure. (It has been a while since last we talked via text...if you are who I think you are) And I'm willing to guess that your name starts with a "J"...and you live out the Arizona way! (or really like Arizona...) Hope you are well! Glad you liked this poem. Thanks for stoppin' in to read this one...about the not-so- green, green grass of home. Couldn't help but bring the anology to life in po-et-try form...as any "Manly" poet would feel obligated to do...as well. Best to you...and Good to see ya'...if you are who I guessed (or not-still good to see ya') Humble Regards,signed, MPM
maven101: What is the old saying..."If you can't beat 'em...join 'em"? You can run down to the Home Depot and buy the best weedkiller out there...you can torch them (weeds) with a propane torch...you can fall back and nuke 'em on site...and they will return...even in dry Arizona...with or without monsoon rains...they will suvive! They are like Cockroaches ...only not quite as ugly! They will survive...they will always survive. It is like some kind of racket...that I am on a mission to help unfold. We spend a great deal of money to destroy the weeds...and to fertilize and care for our yard...we have to pull-up...it is a never-ending treadmill, my friend. Orchestrated by the money grabbers of big industry. They knew all along that the weeds are hybrids...and they tricked us into thinking that we could take them out...that they were the problem. I tell 'ya...it is a conspiracy against every green lawn enthusiasts out there! Grass is historically weaker. Thank god...I have seen the light...and it was only a few inches in front of me. Imagine...how much time I will get back and money saved if I just let the weeds take over...and keep them mowed! I tell ya'...there is something to that. And, it will be the greenest yard on the block...and it will be naturally resilient to everything that I run to the garden center to buy to aid my yard. I have finally seen the light...and I want to pass it on...to all those who toil with their soil...we can start a new day...free from fertilizing schedules! Ha! (Tell your wife...you have finally seen the light...and want to let the weeds takeover...tell her it is all going as planned...you refuse to "buy-in" to the garden centers propaganda...any longer!) Hope this kept you entertained this morning with thoughts of "Weeds and their unwavering, die-hard personalities"...Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk...Thanks for reading this one, Larry...As always...Best and Humble Regards, signed, MPM
MPM - You made me smile with this one. Fact is that God has declared that this is the Year of the Brown - or didn't you figure that out already?
Gus :-)))
GTR: I think it's finally beginning to sink into my thick skull, my friend...that this is one drought for the record books down here...in our neck of the woods. And I sure don't want a Hurricane to come along and replinish all the low levels to our lakes and bayous! Hope you have fared well through it all? "The Year of the Brown!"...what a shame...I had such high hopes for recovering from back to back years with bad freezes. I tell ya' I have lost a lot of regular, hearty plants though our past crazy seasons. Anyways...Hope you are well. Thanks for dropping in and reading this one...my fellow "redneckian" friend of the same region! Hopefully, there are a few rainclouds in the future for our area. Sincere regards, signed, MPM
Delighted to meet you manlypoetryman! Enjoyed your profile post...you sound like a kindred, though much more experienced heart! :-)
And brown grass vs green grass is an ongoing controversy. Win some lose some, huh? Great words and thoughts in your poem.
frogyfish: Well...it is good of you to say. Thank you for the visit to this Hub on the variety of grass found in front of my house. The contrast between the two varieties found during a drought...was too much contrast to pass up...for this particular poet. "Win some-lose some" you say? Good point. Appreciate your comment, signed, MPM
Oh, the irony of it all! Your poem says it all. You might care to read my hub Green Green Grass of Home
thirdmillenium: 'Tis true irony...and it is blatantly staring you/me/all of us...right in the face. How many contradictions do we go through in life...that constantly stare us right in the face...I wonder? Thank you for reading this one...and for your comment here. I will have to check out the hub you mentioned. Best of success in your writings, Signed, MPM
I think in this case, the grass is greener on the other side.
Tis' true...the grass is always greener...everywhere else...but on your own darn yard...no matter how much TLC...you give it! Come next Spring...I want to transplant from the green die-hard stuff to my yard...and spend more time enjoying the yard from a shade porch with ice tea...then on damage control! Best Reagrds to you Paddyboy6-0, signed, MPM
Rosemay50 Level 8 Commenter 9 months ago
Such a shame about your dying grass. I seems to me that this is much like children, cosset them too much and they won't grow strong and survive life's hardships.
A lovely poem well written.