Linda Conroy
What Matters
Cement trucks grind and nail guns slam. I hold a hand
against my brow to shade the pointed sharps of sun.
The heart-safe sky tips south to where the showers lean
before they start. A slant of rain-dew glints on broken pine.
It was early when the work began, the bleat of backing vehicles
a chorus in the chant of progress for the day.
Fresh pasture for the goats is gone. The solemn scent of sage
no longer drifts in roadways where we roam
but look aside, watch sedges undulate in wind that teases
strength of marram stalks. See in new sidewalk cracks
a jubilant announcement of white bindweed,
wild blue flax and cheat-grass nudging its way in.
Bio
Linda Conroy is a retired social worker who uses poetry to show the simplicity and complexity of behaviors that make us human. Her poetry has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Snapdragon, Door is Ajar and Soul-Lit. She is the author of a poetry collection, Ordinary Signs.