appreciating plants & trees

you always saw down on new leaves
the crooked way the branches stretched
and you would ring
to tell me this
it's made me look
closer
ever since

you knew which birds
would nest in these
and which would nest in
next door's bushes
to avoid
the cats in yours

i counted on you telling me
that you had discovered
a new word to use
for the colour green
i just knew only you could have seen
that each plant in this garden
was dressed differently

and how you'd stand on the grass
with the hose
the green snake
you weren't afraid to hold
and quench the thirst
of the new growth
you had just planted
tended
days ago

you made nature come alive
to me
we smelled the roses
picked the peas
(before they reached a pan
i ate most of these)
you even planted a rose bush
just for me
red blooms
against our little yellow house
i watched it grow
as i sang and pushed myself
on our swing

but now some light has gone
today i reveled in the leaves
and realised something was lost
when seeing these
the lustre i had understood
no one else would
want or care to know about
i miss the way
you used to feel
the green
the scent
the season
the breeze

when you died i planted a small tree
but these don't thrive in England
the way they did
when
we were in the little yellow house
and you were teaching me
the art
of appreciating plants and trees