hard of hearing

brown grass and brown evergreens
evidence something odd is happening,
my long-kept garden records
marking emergence of spring flowers
now meaningless

              I am trying to get your attention —
              creating earthquakes in Peru and
              bizarre weather across my surface

time to order seeds for spring,
how do I plan ahead for planting times?
peas always planted April first and potatoes
when new oak leaves are the size of mouse ears,
radishes in with the tinge of green on trees

              my shifting tectonic plates groan,
              isn’t thirty feet of snow enough and
              your weather records broken right and left?

no ice underfoot this last January day,
only those who make their money from
snow complain about this upside-down winter,
maybe I will buy my coveted Japanese Maple
and find a sheltered place to plant it

              I have treasured what you humans
              have brought forth upon my expanses,
              would you destroy me, leave me barren?

perhaps I should schedule my visit for
Nebraska crane-watching a week or two earlier —
they may come sooner this year, even though
Nebraska may get a foot or more of snow today,
hard to maintain an ordered calendar these days

              I have scheduled drought and crop-failure
              inflicting death upon so many innocents,
              while your Wall Street investors’ denial persists

time to check the Dow for today, at least it grows,
wouldn’t want to disturb my retirement funds —
uncertainty with garden-planning is worrisome enough,
besides I don’t know any of those starving people
and am lucky to not live in any earthquake zones