some decades ago divine providence brought a village girl
into my life . a classic african beauty she was . everywhere
we went either hood or westside someone would ask
" dont i know you ? werent you two in that movie by so and so ? "
or someone else would say " arent you both the back up singers
for whats his name ? "
we thought it was very funny . but one day i asked her
how did a schmuck and putz like me get a beautiful girl like
her . she hugged me put her head on my shoulder and said
" shut your mouth ! dont you know the work of our lord
is mysterious ! "
twice a year i let my rear yard run amuck . what ever
wants to grow can grow and what ever chooses to die
may do so . it is a revelation to see and watch grasses
and weeds branches and trees come and go and birds of
every size and spiders in their webs appear and disappear
once an alley cat left a partially eaten mouse on
a concrete slap . as days and weeks and months
went by a parade of flies then ants and things too
small to see had their way . its fur dried flew off
the bones bleached in the sun and came apart
the work of our lord in this world is indeed mysterious