The grass in our shady back yard is still too patchy to consider mowing, unlike the lush, pocket-sized front lawn, but I've been enjoying seeing what has popped up there this spring besides the slow-growing grass. Here and there little ferns unfurl. Pockets of vivid green moss deepen in color. A single white tulip, perhaps inadvertently planted by a squirrel, stands surrounded by a scattering of little white violets. Forget-me-nots bloom by the shed, reminding me of how many would grow in my grandmother's garden when I was a kid, those clusters of tiny pink, blue, and white flowers that spread further each year. Soon, the grass will be tall enough, but there will be too many flowers blooming back there for me to bear to mow them.
In the unmown lawn
forget-me-nots once again
inspire memories.
