By Angelo Geter

This poem was commissioned by the Rock Hill Early Learning Partnership, and dedicated to the McCoy family, January 28, 2020.

The art of planting things
Is one of the world’s oldest past-times
When a community is in the midst of drought
Or in need of replenishing its crops
Farmers grab handfuls of seed to replace
What has already vanished
They hoist the future in their palms
And spill tomorrow into the dark canvas below
Hoping to sprout masterpieces from this barren-ness

Over time,
Roots crawl through the earth
Until flowers are born dancing on warm soil
Lifting their hands to beaming sky
In hopes of grasping the sun

This is what it means to give birth to the unexpected
To raise vines
when weeds have always polluted the garden of potential
To nurture and not abandon
Invest without defaulting on responsibilities

In this world
Our children are sunflowers
In need of a parent’s light to shelter them from darkness
Fragile but faithful
Bright and beautiful
A greenhouse of ambition
Ready to sprout success

And we know that a crop is only as good as its gardner
So we use words to fertilize their imaginations
We plant truth in the face of lies
instill love in the midst of hate
nurture hope and harvest healthy minds
We read, bond and grow