Tending To
A lot goes into this tending idea
To take care of
To nurture
To protect
To encourage
People and plants need a lot of this verb
Sometimes, this means dealing with shit:
I spade cow manure to enrich the soil
Hose bird poop polka-dots off my car
Trash nightgowns, undies, sometimes sheets
Call carpet cleaners for human crap
when digestive tracts malfunction
Sometimes, this means stripping:
I pull the sucker leaves from stems
Wrap the bark on fruit trees to protect them
I worry about Mother’s increasing ability
to forget she is not dressed as
when she opens her apartment door
wearing but a camisole and I follow
her wrinkled little butt cheeks so sweet
so vulnerable and I am glad once again
it is me and not the maintenance man
who’s knocked upon her door
Published in Transition issue
by Here Comes Everyone