Garden Lesson

Garden Lesson

My little cousin picked
her up, said, "Hello, Nancy!"
and her body squeezed into
itself, timid as
sleeping grass. We counted
to ten, till her flagpole
eyes re-emerged, two
hypnotic fingers dowsing our faces
for danger. Later, we watched

her crawl away, slow
and barge-like, patiently wading
through a sticky pool of
fall; behind her, a
white snail's trail, opalescent
in the wet morning light,
bright as ammolite.

Mohamad Atif Slim

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to Garden Lesson
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Poetry/2011/0328/Garden-Lesson
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us