Songs of the Garden

What’s wrong, 
handsome small farmer?
Heron stopping, 
pony stopping—
magic—



*



Healthy, educated maiden,
she would serve you a rough half-bushel—
cockle soup, a brew,
the water in which the puddings had been cooked



*



Remember, pilgrim: not the clothes, the road.

Pass between two hills’ breadth.

Put wind into the wish.



*



Mischance fall upon them who avoid the conflict:
the fork of their breeches
tied in a bundle



*



Manage cheerfully, 
two by two: 
cock and gander, 
dove and dragon.



*



Defied book-knowledge—
Taught the garden—



*



A compact: 
first, housewifely tasks; then,
much ale.

Copyright © 2019 Anna Lena Phillips Bell. This poem was originally published in Quarterly West. Used with permission of the author.