This picture was taken just a few days ago.
It is behind my house, down the alley.
Each block in my neighborhood has a hidden alley separating
the house backs.
For some reason the pink roses on our pergola love
facing west; so I must walk down the alley to enjoy them.
What beauties they are right now.
When walking down the alley, which is indeed in the city,
it feels for a few moments like I am down a country lane.
I love walking the alleys of my neighborhood.
With a Hedgerow or a Fence
Inclose a garden if you will
With a fence or hedgerow-still
Roses' vagrant scents go roaming;
Dandelion seeds come homing;
Creeping in and under, tansy
Greets a sly out-faring pansy.
Shut the gate, bar it, lock it-
Thistles laugh, cornflowers mock it;
Honeysuckle vines climb over;
Through the interstices, clover.
And no berries ever grew
Robins didn't steal a few.
Some troubles end and some commence
With a hedgerow or a fence.
~A Kitchen Sonnet, by Ethel Romig Fuller
I am so happy I found A Kitchen Sonnet at an antique mall
some years ago. I do quote from her from time and this
out of print book delights me. Hope you enjoy it too.
I thought this particular poem describes what I see when I walk our alleys.
There are indeed vagrant roses, dandelions, and escaping vines of many kinds.
Even our fig tree hangs into the alley.
Happy Weekend, dear friends!
