Friday, October 07, 2011

"Now My Garden"


By Anjana Deshpande

She didn’t have to, but she introduced
me to the lilac, that afternoon.
pulled a branch towards me,
taught me the lilac scent.

And that’s my basil…
And my tomatoes are in the cage
because hungry deer nibble at it.
And those are my peonies …
she opened her hands,
flat and wide,
how does one explain peonies ?

Then the azalea bushes,
and some others (I forgot which)
that had pricked her son
when he planted them.

And then there was the lavender.

She crushed some,
and held out a
fragrant palm.

There, under a maple,
leaving the men to their talks
of basement leaks
and attic insulation

she stood in the garden
helping me grow roots.

Writer Anjana Deshpande is a Licensed Social Worker and a Certified Poetry Therapist who recently founded the "Center for Therapeutic Writing." As a therapist, Anjana works with a wide variety of individuals, including veterans, to help empower them through poetry and other writing. She has published papers on her work with the veterans and the elderly, and has given several workshops on the transformative powers of writing. She makes her home outside Philadelphia with her husband and two children.

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