In Another Garden
︎︎︎ C. Sandbatch
︎ July 5, 2026
Just now I smelled England astride a creek in Texas,
with a one-eyed white dog and two pine trees behind me.
The wind was long, of black and iron and root.
I did not know your arms could stretch so far.
England, what are you doing here?
Who swore you'd stay gone?
Who folded your hands behind your back,
Who walked away from our Garden.
I buried your hills long ago,
I breathe mesquite and dust,
I forgot the names of your birds,
I let vowels harden in my mouth.
And here you are.
Your damp breath in the grass,
your sweet muddy odor rising through
this borrowed soil
How dare you remember me?
with a one-eyed white dog and two pine trees behind me.
The wind was long, of black and iron and root.
I did not know your arms could stretch so far.
England, what are you doing here?
Who swore you'd stay gone?
Who folded your hands behind your back,
Who walked away from our Garden.
I buried your hills long ago,
I breathe mesquite and dust,
I forgot the names of your birds,
I let vowels harden in my mouth.
And here you are.
Your damp breath in the grass,
your sweet muddy odor rising through
this borrowed soil
How dare you remember me?