Dusting down terracotta
spiders run in double quick
time-
seems a lifetime since last spring.
(I should wear gardening gloves)
But the feel of soft loam
through my fingers,
gritty nails and that mothering smell
of wetness.
Makes the chill of early March Saturday-
(unusual to have a weekend off)
dissipate like an earthworm
heading for home
I sort out bulbs
from last year,
this little haven-
a small concreted yard
back-to-back living of Northern towns
allium skins peel back
reveal many layers
of old red brick
dust and creaking
home
They want to knock us down
re-build
(new fancy homes)
with no character-
no heart
beat
of this place.
Ajoene-
Ajoene
I cry out,
sanctuary of my little house
its not prairie living-
no plantation horizon
no seashore
to pick pebble-beached heart pleads.
I sit-
quietude and dirty hands
filling pots
with soil and garlic,
raddish
sweet cherry-
my lips curl and find a smile,
I'm not green-fingered
but I try
to grow
Ajoene-
Ajoene.
Author notes
The image is of Ajoene:
Ajoene, an unsaturated sulfoxide disulfide, is the principal chemical responsible for garlic's anticoagulant properties. It is a component of allicin, a sulfinyl compound that gives garlic its strong odor and flavor. Ajoene is currently being developed as a pharmaceutical for the treatment of blood clotting disorders. As a naturally occurring "nutriceutical", this potent phytochemical might reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease.
In addition, ajoene also has been found to have effective antimicrobial properties, inhibiting the growth of both bacteria and fungi.
micro.magnet.fsu.edu/phytochemicals/pages/ajoene.html
this is what garlic looks like photographed through an electron microscope
Written March 11th, 2006
In a list
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Comments
1 - 22 of 22
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Hi. Read this days ago ..
Much for me to connect too. Will have a more in depth comment, you know where. 
Lisa. -
Mothering smell!!! That's it ... I've been trying to describe it! This made me feel for my little plot of earth too
Time to plant again
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what a wonderful word quietude is ... like everyone else i love the picture (similar striking-ness (sorry, too early in the morning) to the heroin one.... the poem ... gorgeous .... i like the talking to self in brackets throughout ... we do that, dont we ? ... the title is so exotic sounding that it was a relief to find out it is garlic which i am show will grow like a forest in your pot .... lovely piece Gill >>> GINA
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A very different poem and a very different structure.Really enjoyed reading this one.Shall keep a look-out for your other poems.Excellent.
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loved it, loved it, loved it. soooo glad I clicked here
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Lovely
I loved this - and was left with a feeling of unwanted change in the air, and a longing for things to be kept as they are because you love them. A beautiful thought wrapped in words. -
What a perfect moment in time to share x
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this resurrected echoes of Salford flagged backyards and old stone sinks used as garden troughs, quickly turned waterlogged and barren .... but nevertheless each year we tried.
A lovely poem Gill, and so symbolic of grounded northern dauntlessness -
wow girl.....the picture of course is what screamed at me first in its beauty of colors ( what a surprise to find out what it is ) I love it
Now to the write .....told you earlier that we had 70+ degree weather yesterday. Spent the day downtown on the waterfront...my thoughts were roaming along this poem , as we passed many older developments marked to be torn down and it struck me as really sad. They looked like waht you describe your little home to be like
, so I hope that will not happen to you
The other part of your write mothering smell of wetness (unbelievable you should write about that)Due to the spring in the air , I told hubby that the biggest compliment he ever gave me was when he said I smelled like dirt
lol...he meant soil. At that moment I felt so part of Earth and was proud to smell like it I could go on and on about all that it is in this write that made me feel good or sad, but it was my frame of mind that you wrote. And then all the info you provided is worth reading alone...so I hope you will get to keep growing ajoene. My grand-maman always believed in the healing qualities of it Thank you......you made my day
xoxoxo
reenie
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your poem reminded me so long ago a lady-neighbor, quite the gardening type, when I helped her planting bulbs in her yard. years after she sold the house it was always a sweet remembrance to see those bulbs popping through each spring.
sweet and sentimental poem, Gill, and lots of great earthy images too!
Jo -
yes,
these new homes of the profane
coagulate the senses as
dill is to peanut butter
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so true...spring is like heaven.amayzing poem..i look forward to reading more
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thankyou
I'm a nurse.. working in drug and alcohol detox unit.. but am fascinated by science and nature ... as well as the love for the written word and art
thankyou for you interest and kind comment -
Oohh eck lad.. lady chatterly an'all that.. thou better roll tha' cap back lad
thankyou Stef... I know you know my yard.. as I know yours and and all that stuff we share..
thankie kind sir
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Thankyou Dee... and yes... I love these weird images.. I came across the site that they are on by accident.. and it's got my hooked
thankyou again... for the lovely comment -
A surprise! Science!
Oh, my gosh, a scientific poem! Garlic is beautiful! The poem is lovely and my eyes popped when I saw all the science info in the author's box..How smart and pretty at the same time! I must visit your poet page and see what you do. Thank you for inviting me to your garden party! 
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This is an incredible piece, I love the iamgery of your home and how you feel about it...I also love the picture and the exotic name for what is actually garlic, the stuff really is magic. Fabulous write!
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Of course I zoomed in on your back yard. I could write a whole column about this . Well not your back yard in particular of course, But I have seen your back yard as you have seen my back yard (metaphorically speaking) and the thousands of back yards of Northern England that speak the homeliness of herbs in pots and first snowdrops and strong women with capable hands rough with love. Oh God, I am beginning to sound like D.H.Lawrence again.
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wow, Gill, this is very interesting and who would have thought that garlic is so beautiful under close scrutiny.
I know how you feel in the poem. Here in the Phoenix area building is going crazy... Ilook at a new subdivision and what I see is a bunch of impersonal houses, one on top of the other and mostly earthtones... stacked together like that, they can make a housing development look so dreary.... and desert landscaping.... give me a lawn to keep up any day. The house I live in is more than forty years old, just a subdivision house but it's roomy and nice, and not a carbon copy of the one next door....and it has grass in the yard The problem is...the neighborhood has a rather high crime rate, and since we're renting, as soon as our lease is up we're going house hunting...might have to go half way to Los Angles to get some space but everything is spreading out so rapidly.
Your poem is very visual... planting, dirty hands, seeds that will grow into something beautiful and/or edible... and I'm with you there, too, I love the feel of the soil between my fingers...what the heck, it washes off, no harm done and there's something soothing about that feel.
Okay.. I'll shut up now
I love this poem, though and the awesome picture
Glad to know there'll be more from the Phoenix Poets soon...I'll be watching for it.
Dee
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wonderful poem, the qualities of the ajoene, reduction of stroke and heart disease, garlic is an old time favorite of herbalists, good to know validation of researchers are developing it's potential. what a calming poem, the garden, the weekend spent amidst pots and bulbs...perfect image of quiet solace within ones own satisfaction.
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thankyou Al
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Message on SS
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