Weeds

I have 85 weeds
which have creeped through
the surface of my driveway
and around its perimeter.
Another hundred or so
have grown from a thin layer of soil
which has appeared over the asphalt,
as if by magic.
And so on Sunday,
after three years in my house
I began my chemical warfare,
in an effort to rid them.
I am a lazy man,
it has taken me this long.
At first, I thought I could use these weeds
to my advantage.
When I was chef at the Grovewood
I would toss dandelion weeds with lemon,
vin catto, greek olive oil,
(extra virgin, first cold pressed, and unfiltered)
and so on, I paired them with lobster medallions
and peruvian potatoes for an appetizer.
But here, weeds are not valued
for their culinary significance.
And so, they are made to feel worthless.
In another place and another time
they might be looked at as beautiful,
oh, my son thinks they are beautiful,
but my neighbors will have none of them.
And, so I get my fingernails black with their soil
and dig bare - handed
into the eight inches of soil
which has encroached on my driveway.
As the soil moves,
and takes over the blacktop
I am reminded how alive
the Earth really is.
If I let it go
she will reclaim my yard, and eventually
the entire street.
Tell me where’s the harm in that?
After three days the chemical has done its job,
and the weeds are yellow.
Dead, wilted, and hanging limply.
They give no more resistance
when I pull them from their home.
And the soil?
It rolls like carpet off my driveway.
I picture it much like the tarp at Jacob’s Field,
rolling much the same way.
,Andsonowmyfellowinsects
I have committed herbicide
on my bretheran
who would have been valued
in the proper place, time, and context.
In front of me now lies
my barren driveway,
which now has no beauty left for me.