Musings from The Farm: "A Winter Eden"
A winter garden is a compost swamp,
Where chickens now come out to sun and romp,
As near a paradise as it can be
And not melt snow or start a chestnut tree.
So near to paradise all pairing ends:
Here hapless creatures collect as winter friends,
Content with bud-inspecting. They presume
To say which buds are leaf and which are bloom.
A feather-hammer gives a double knock.
This Eden day is done at two o’clock.
An hour of winter day is never too short
To make it worth life’s while to wake and sport.
~Robert Frost, adapted by Robin McDowell (2010)
