In France

French Gardens

The classic tapestry
of woven designs geometric -
lines of colors,
vegetation
abiding the architect's compass
and protractor.
Alleys of hedges going nowhere,
a colorful carousel
playing the same tune over and over.
Shrubs forced into cones,
the individuality of flowers lost
in the massive plantings of solid colors,
textures and fragrances blurring.
Man's perfect design
allowing no weeds to take root
whose vagrant seeds may be brought
by a careless wind
or an errant sea breeze.

Yet in the palace wall
a moss has established itself
in the cracks between the stones.
A grimping ivy strives
to scale the man-made precipice.
Molds of glorious colors
have painted the dull stones
with sunny pastels
and bright mandalas
of orange, turquoise and yellow.
And what's that?
A little garden hanging
between chipped mortar and rock!
Tiny violets,
bluebells
and ferny growth
invite a closer look.

(Has the ocean, too,
established a beachhead
on this stony outpost of civilization?
Seashells!
Spirals, turrets, and scallops
scattered in the sandy mortar,
fossilized in its matrix.
The weathered palace wall betrays
the vulnerability of its classic design.)

The courage
of these rebellious growths
spurs us on
through the rusty gate
and out on to the prairie
beyond the garden wall.
Wild things lure us farther.
A riot of color and texture
carries us along.
Clovers of yellow, white, and violet,
and a multitude
of other weedy flowers
freely mix with the grass,
untouched
by the gardener's vigilant blade.
Herbs mix with wildflowers,
scraggly dandelions
and a scattering of cosmos
make a jolly bouquet
at the feet of her majesty, the Rose,
now unconfined
and spreading her limbs
in voluptuous color,
embracing a wild jasmine,
letting their tendrils
sensuously intertwine
and their fragrances mingle.

The poppies,
mallows,
wild raspberries,
and nameless other companions
threaten anarchy,
both untamed and delicate.
Their airborne allies,
buzzing and dancing,
help to strengthen their assault
upon the palace wall
and the classic garden beyond,
who stands watch stiffly
in uniforms and ordered ranks,
guardian of dignity, law, and order.

© 2000 Richard Sidy