40° In The Shade

40° in the shade out here, hardly a
sinecure for a farm hand. And yes,
I am aware that right now some of
you are suffering in sub-zero sleet
with a liberal dash of snow.

A bit different from our atmosphere;
though it’s fair enough – I suppose,
we’ve been in drought for 10 years.
We get drastically less than average
annual rainfall despite our prayers.

And it does take the shine off being
in the beautiful Sunshine State – hot
one day, positively brutal the next!
So I’m not spraying weeds today,
the bloody herbicide evaporates.

Yep, we had three months of solid
rain, care of cyclones that again left
the top end under water. It grew a
rash of grass and weeds but didn’t
store enough stuff for urban needs.

So I stare out the window at weeds
growing under trees whose shade
asks no favours. A plant conspiracy –
biodiversity on the rise. Well, sure,
they’ll get no rise out of me today.
© 23 February 2008, I. D. Carswell