The Holly As Tall As The House

 

By John I. Blair

Once (it seems in another life)
We bought this house with pride,
The first house we could call our own.

In front a line of struggling shrubs,
Decades in the ground but badly chosen.
Barely hid the narrow porch.

So I yanked them out, then
Dug and dug and dug (skirting
A concrete slab beneath the soil)

And planted new beginnings,
Four hollies plus some different sort,
Encouraged them to grow, and waited.

The second choice declined the chance,
But hollies loved this place,
Loved and gained, spread and sought the sun.

Now, more than thirty years along,
Merged into a single mass,
I have hollies tall as houses.

Some day (for houses can decay
While hollies thrive and live)
House-sized hollies
May be what remains.

©2022 John I. Blair, 2/1/2022

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