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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Today's poem by Edgar Guest

Plant a Garden

If your purse no longer bulges
and you've lost your golden treasure,
If times you think you're lonely
and have hungry grown for pleasure,
Don't sit by your hearth and grumble,
don't let mind and spirit harden.
If it's thrills of joy you wish for
get to work and plant a garden!

If it's drama that you sigh for,
plant a garden and you'll get it
You will know the thrill of battle
fighting foes that will beset it
If you long for entertainment and
for pageantry most glowing,
Plant a garden and this summer spend
your time with green things growing.

Edgar Guest (1881-1959)

15 comments:

  1. Dee/reddirtramblingsApril 30, 2011 at 3:05:00 PM EDT

    I love it! Yes, I was outside today thinking about how gardening is endlessly fascinating. Yes, plant a garden.~~Dee

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  2. NanApril 30, 2011 at 6:45:00 PM EDT

    I just love this little poem, Dee.

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  3. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 7:10:00 PM EDT

    Thank you for sharing this poem by Edgar Guest about gardening! My husband is from England and he has a real "brown thumb" (that is what they say there instead of "green thumb"). Of course, you must know that since you got married there... you MUST tell us about your time in England! Also, wonder if my husband could be related to Edgar Guest...
    Cheers!
    Kay Guest

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  4. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 7:16:00 PM EDT

    Oh, Nan, I just remembered...they don't say "brown thumb" in England...they say you have "green fingers" instead of thumb...That is so much like me these days...could I have been thinking of Capability Brown? Who knows? :-)
    Kay Guest

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  5. shoreacresApril 30, 2011 at 10:29:00 PM EDT

    This is so lovely - and what Guest says is true whether we have an acre or a half-dozen clay pots. My "garden" is a tiny balcony, but it presents its own challenges, and gives just as much pleasure!

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  6. Kim VelkMay 1, 2011 at 9:14:00 AM EDT

    Very charming, like the picture of the dog and his man. Love that Daff too.

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  7. NanMay 1, 2011 at 10:09:00 AM EDT

    Kay, just for fun I looked it up and brown thumb means you have terrible luck growing plants! Have you ever seen the movie Greenfingers with Clive Owen? Very, very good film.

    Shoreacres, I was very taken with this delightful little poem.

    KSV, I'm very fond of big dogs, and you can tell how tall he is by those long legs. :<)

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  8. AnonymousMay 1, 2011 at 3:20:00 PM EDT

    Wonderful! Just what I needed on this first day of May.

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  9. YvetteMay 1, 2011 at 6:31:00 PM EDT

    What a fun poem, Nan. I don't have the energy anymore for real...uh, energetic gardening. But I take care to do some potted plants on my porch. Gardening enough for me. :) My lavendar is coming back from last year even though it's planted in a ceramic pot. :) And I've already put up some basil.

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  10. Donna@anangloinquébecMay 1, 2011 at 10:28:00 PM EDT

    Oh, how inspiring...great poem. Nan, I love your new header image. I so want to sit there on your porch. It really looks like a great spot!

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  11. JillMay 2, 2011 at 10:58:00 AM EDT

    I have a thin volume of Edgar Guest's poems -- A Heap o' Living -- given to me by my mother years ago. My favorite is: Home..."It takes a heap o' lvin' in a house t' make it home..." And this reminds me of your wonderful farm-house. I see you have a porch too! So lucky you. Is it on the front of your house?

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  12. BarbaraMay 2, 2011 at 11:02:00 AM EDT

    Not being much for poetry, I was mostly looking at the dog. I used to have two fawn Great Danes, but this brindle is really majestic looking. Those of us who have had Danes, though, know that's just a pose - actually they're big clowns.

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  13. NanMay 2, 2011 at 12:37:00 PM EDT

    Penny, isn't it a fun poem!

    Yvette, one plant makes you a gardener!

    Thank you, an anglo, you are welcome anytime!

    Windblown thoughts, time was when many American (at least) households had some Edgar Guest on the shelves. I like a poem like this - it says a lot, in a fun way. In answer to your question, the porch is on the side. There is a terrace on the front. We tore off the front part of the porch when we moved in because it was on the south and blocked sunshine into the house. We've been happy with the decision.

    Barbara, I do love that photo. And I'm so fond of Great Danes, though I've never had one.

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  14. galantMay 4, 2011 at 10:05:00 AM EDT

    I confess to not being a poetry lover, but this really hits the spot! It's simple, easy to understand, and full of truth. And yes, being good at gardening here means you have "green fingers." I've never heard of Edward Guest, but I do like this short, simple poem. Our garden is tiny, about 40 ft by 20 ft, and with a huge walnut tree, but having some green space outside is just lovely, I'd hate to be without it.
    Margaret P

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  15. NanMay 4, 2011 at 10:45:00 AM EDT

    Margaret, there's more about Edgar Guest here, if you are interested:

    http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/731

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