if you walk on the front lawn
past the library where –
free of charge –
you can take some
if you leave some
if you approach the front
windows she will likely try
to claw the screen
attesting to her
ownership
if you walk up the driveway
and duck under the
grapevines or
poison-ivy – some say –
will tickle your legs
if you look upward
you can barely see the sky
between the
older-than-the-4th-of-July
burr oaks
if you walk past the
once-was back door –
into the backyard –
a forest of weed-trees
shades leftover plants
if you stroll further
the spring bulb-mothers’
dead stalks
cover the leaf-mulched
soil
if you climb up two rotting
steps to the bird feeders
squirrel-ridden –
and treated with suet –
is the cardinal family’s
year-round home
if you like critters and
engage them in dialogue –
natural ambiance –
you will have an annual
prayer rug for a yard
if you let the white pickets
go gray beside the curb –
looking wrinkled –
the shimmer-light of the
street lamp will guard the
paw prints of winter bunnies
© Lewis Bosworth, 2016