Legacy of Dirt

She sits in the damp green grass
Caressing the soft dark earth at her feet.
The sun is bright, reflecting the pools of
water welled in her eyes.
Her chest heaves, she grips the soil,
Remembering with just a touch,
All the moments and movements of earth between them.

Sunny day, she is 3, plopped on chubby legs in the garden.
She eats a tomato, salty juice and dirt streaking her chin
“Its all part of nature, you see” he says.

Freezing day, she is 14, standing like a sentry at her Grandmother’s grave.
The dirt creates a hole today, a bigger one in her heart.
The first time she sees her Father cry.

Spring day, she is 21, kneeling on piles of dirt tucked in for a flower bed.
They design and plant together now
He sees a fellow gardener in her.

And now, this final planting.
Etched permanently with the dirt in her hands.
She covers him lovingly with earth he can no longer caress.
She is the gardener now, tending
The memories of her childhood,
Remembering the seeds of the past.