Stepping out
into a balmy late
autumn night
the air
and the earth still moist
from the day’s
rain,

I’m stopped in my tracks

I can almost taste
the sweet, rich,
earthy scent
all around me,
alive and present again
to my afternoon’s garden work
         hands covered in soil
         sprinkling a web of
         home-made magic
         compost
         over and around every
         bed and tree,
         rain in my hair,
         part of the elements
         in my element!
         dusky, darkening light
         nudging the day along,
standing outside my back door now
my body knows
it’s done what it is meant to do.

Finally
the earth around my
feet and in my heart
is singing,
its joy
accompanying me
home