Something is eating the peas in the garden.
It doesn’t actually eat them, just chews them off
where the stems meet the dirt. The plants
are left dead on the ground beside
the nubs of stems. All the more reason,
why we must hold each other tenderly.
Every day so much that is growing
is lost, seemingly for nothing. When
I planted the seeds, I wasn’t thinking
of metaphors. I thought only of peas.
Now, it’s impossible to stand in the garden
and be only beside the ravaged vines.