‘At the present rate it must come to pass

And that right soon, that the meadowsweet

And steeple bush, not good to eat,

Will have crowded out the edible grass.

Then all there is to do is wait

For maple, birch, and spruce to push

Through meadowsweet and steeple bush

And crowd them out at a similar rate…'‘

Excerpt from Robert Frost, “Something for Hope,”

see https://www.wellesley.edu/wcbg/resources/poetry_walk/poem_10

Today I committed myself to not weeding. My body is very tired. I needed energy for tonight, for my “girl in tree bark” book release at the Trident Bookstore in Boston. So, I walked by everything in bloom and appreciated all my hard work and said so long as this was my last chance to notice everything before leaving for Martha’s Vineyard first thing tomorrow morning. In the meadow I took two pictures: Steeplebush, or meadowsweet. And the blackd]\\d-eyed Susan in the ferns. It was a busy day of prepping for my book release and packing, but i walked to slow myself down and focus. it’s a vulnerable process, this day of: I’m going on, I’m going to read my poems and engage the audience. All day as I planned which poems I would read cancellations of those who said they’d be there came in - all good reasons, but it was psyching me out to answer the phone and receive texts about all the reasons people couldn’t there. Tonight, once we were home, Frank gave me a beautiful compliment, in addition to the positive feedback about my reading tonight, he said:: “You did a great job staying balanced today, And I agreed. The reading went very well, and there were many guests who came and the event felt entirely successful to me in every way. I’m falling asleep, literally now, must close my eyes on this special day.