Jennifer Lagier

GOD IS A FEMINIST FARMER

"i found god in myself...& i loved her fiercely"--playwright Ntozake Shange
 
 

These blunt fingers with missing nails,
ringed with cutting shed knife scars
conjure fragrant gardenias,
fecund zucchini and heavy camellias
from the ruins of austere dune sand,
bony rock soil.

Beyond raw earth,
countertops beg to be blessed
with a damp sponge and cleanser,
plasterboard fades
beneath spaghetti sauce freckles,
dog clawed door frames pant
for a fresh coat of paint.

All the while, garden sirens
call with promises.
relentlessly
between the rows,
my unremarkable hands
freeing tap roots from junk weeds
making poems and entire mountainsides
burst into flower.