I took advantage of the cool, overcast weather and spent the day outside working in my yard. As anyone who has driven past my house at anytime in the last two years can tell you, we’ve been ‘putting in’ our yard. Even though the comment we most often get when giving tours of our house is “Wow! It just keeps going!”, I can attest that there is still plenty of our long, skinny half acre that is not house. Today I put the last of the sprinklers in the front. While my hands were busy in the dirt, my mind wandered on creative shores…
Clay Sucks – by Josie Hulme
Clay sucks.
My shovel groans
as I stab its blade
into the hard earth.
The tip grates on rock.
I move to the other side
and try again.
I scrape and pry—
Different angles,
Different directions.
Until, at last, the small
rock pops free and smirks
at me from the bottom of my hole.
Gravel sucks, too.
Laying Sprinkler Pipe, a haiku – by Josie Hulme
The pickax speeds down—
Me and gravity, a team.
The trench grows longer.
The Joy of Hard Work – by Josie Hulme
Hard work brings peace to your mind,
Puts your troubles behind
you for a bit.
Aah.
Hard work makes you one with God.
You can’t help but applaud
His creation.
Bravo!
Hard work let’s you see your feat—
Visual, real, concrete—
Your mark on the world.
Applause.
Hard work is good for your soul,
Though it does take a toll
on your body.
Ow.
The Bloody Keyboard 