The Shafers

I hear that the Schafers have gone
to visit Southeast Asia for a month.

My goodness !

It's beyond me how anyone can do that.
How do you have available such an abundance of time
to spend visiting all those different places in the world?
And yet to me, it seems really an insufficient amount of time
to cover such an enormous space.

As for me it's all I can do to visit the yard-square patch of greenery
that has sprouted up beside my back steps.
My goodness!

Jewelweed has already spread its delicate splendor
around underneath the steps, peeking up between them.
Later there will be orchid-like orange and yellow blossoms,
which no blade will ever touch.

And tall as my waist already, with leaves the size of serving platters,
sturdy broadleaf dock, whose good-sized seed heads will feed many
and many more winter birds.

See?
Already there's more, here by the back steps,
than a person can take in.

Oh, and look ! Around the edges there's red clover,
plantain, yellow sorrel, cleavers, black medick,
oh ! and fleabane and dandelion and oxeye daisy.

All these amazing beings,
and easily another dozen or more surrounding,
and their stories barely touched upon.

Oh my goodness !
Do you see my dilemma ?
Never if I live for hundreds of years will I
be able to thoroughly meet and understand
those few who have flourished
in that yard-square patch by my steps !

And I wonder where the Schafers might be now …