A to Z Challenge – M is for Mowing the Lawn

April 15, 2015 at 1:47 pm | Posted in A-Z Blogging Challenge 2015, Australia, Birds, Gardens | 7 Comments
Tags: exercise, mowing, relaxation

I love mowing the lawns – do you?

…..

M is for Mowing the Lawn

Back and forth, I tramp across the yard,

pushing before me this raucous machine

that devours grass and sticks and weeds,

masticates them in whirling blades,

spitting out their shredded remains

in long uneven parallels of green.

So often a tedious task, but not today:

A warm afternoon sun draws yesterday’s rain

From moist earth into clear blue autumn skies,

And a light breeze cools the well-earned sweat

That, in humid air, gathers upon my brow.

…..

Around me, in red-flowering bottlebrush trees,

Gaudy Rainbow Lorikeets quarrel vociferously,

Chasing their differences from tree to tree,

Their screeches almost overwhelming the mower’s roar.

Up the back slope, where I have not yet been,

Sedate Eastern Rosellas pluck plentiful grass seeds.

I do not mow all their granary, but leave uncut

The yard’s far reaches, amid tall Spotted Gums.

There, skinks and blue-tongue lizards hide

Among tall grass, bracken fern and fallen branches,

And, at night, brush-tailed possums play.

…..

As I work my way across the lawning grass,

Two lapwings follow in my wake.

Immaculately dressed in light tan and white,

Black collars and caps, and masks of bright yellow,

They show no fear as I turn the mower towards them.

Our lawns and the neighbours’ provide

A constant, well-stocked larder for this faithful pair.

Today, they enjoy a veritable feast,

Darting in and dashing out on red-brown stick legs,

Snatching and devouring their spoils – the unlucky insects

So rudely disturbed by my slashing monster.

…..

As I close the throttle at last, blessed silence returns –

Except for those still-argumentative lorikeets.

The lapwings continue to forage over the sun-dappled lawn;

They should sleep, well-fed, tonight.

The mower garaged, I survey, from the verandah,

A neat, evenly cut lawn beneath tall, sheltering trees,

Enjoying the glow of a job well done, and a feeling of

Intimacy with our local community of feathered friends.

…..

(c)  Linda Visman