WEEDS

In the grand design of creation

I was assigned a special role

To cover the ground for protection

To multiply, to spread and grow

Gifted with a strong will to live

In soils both rich and poor

To survive the grazing of animals

And the keen blade of the mower

In sun or shade or cold or heat

I constantly do my chore

On roadside or woodland lot

On uplands and by the shore

In all kinds of places I grow

I compete with sprays and mulch

For some reason I grow best in a garden

Among the roses and such

I bind up wounds and heal with care

The neglect that is caused by man

I restore the ground to produce again

According to the Eden Plan

They say I am ugly and misshapen

Sometimes they say I‘m not cute

They attack me with shovel and rake

They pull me out by my roots

Still I continue my mission

All I need is some light and space

For I am not an ugly weed

I am just a plant out of place

By Gene Howard MG2005

5-3-2006