The Jungle Garden

By Duane Anderson

Each spring,
our neighbor attempts growing
something in his garden.
This year it looks like zucchini plants
although I, myself, am no plant expert.
The plants seem to be doing okay
as long as they receive rain each week.

Now with the dry spell,
the plants have withered
and may not make it much longer.
His daughter watered his garden
the past few years
but she moved out
and there is no one else to do this task
except for the one who planted them.

Once these plants have died
the weeds will continue to thrive.
They are the best things that he
has ever grown in his small patch of land.
I know the weeds will grow taller and taller.
They grow like a gardener does to his flowers
with tender loving care.

I know that the weeds do not require
much water to survive.
I know of his gardening skills
having lived next door to him for years.
Some things never change.

Duane Anderson currently lives in La Vista, NE. He has had poems published in Fine Lines, Cholla Needles, Tipton Poetry Journal, and several other publications. He is the author of ‘On the Corner of Walk and Don’t Walk,’ and ‘The Blood Drives: One Pint Down,’ and ‘Conquer the Mountains.’