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This site exists for one purpose only: to help dispel the ugly and absolutely untrue myth that poetry is boring. Granted, a lot of poetry is boring, but you won't find it here. At Your Daily Poem, you'll find poetry that is touching, funny, provocative, inspiring, uplifting, and surprising. It may punch you in the gut, it may bring tears to your eyes, it may make you laugh out loud, but it most assuredly will not bore you!

Poetry on YDP—by poets living and long dead, famous to completely unknown--is specially selected for accessibility and appeal. Thanks so much for visiting—and remember: a poem a day keeps the doldrums away!

Wisdom of the Scarecrow
by
Violet Nesdoly

From the first burp
of a shoot bursting its tomb
to the dozing off
of a harvested plant
life remains a mystery.

There is significance in small things:
the subterranean wisdom of earthworms
the collegial hum of bees
the fantasies of the cabbage grub
the silent plodding of beetles
and how ants and aphids conspire.

It takes a whole season
of watermelon mornings
and peach nights,
all the moods
from mourning to petulance
languid afternoons
to sensual alyssum-scented nights
to grow a garden.

The gardener's watchfulness
doesn't keep squash
from escaping over the fence
bindweed sneaking in
and slugs leaving glittering trails
from leaf-bone remnants
of last night's orgy.

For some
salvation comes
in cages twine and shears.
?

I, myself, am nothing
without creeping shadows
the aging of rain
and the life of the wind

This poem first appeared on www.utmostchristianwriters.com
Used here with the author's pemission.

Violet Nesdoly lives near Vancouver, British Columbia. When she's not working on various writing projects, she enjoys making art, reading, and walking local nature trails with her husband, camera in hand. Violet is the author of two poetry collections and two novels; her poems have appeared in anthologies and a variety of print and online publications. Learn more about Violet at violetnesdoly.com.

EstherJ:
Splendid! There is something almost miraculous about the way plants grow. I love how Violet describes so many parts of gardening in such a whimsical way.
Posted 05/11/2026 11:54 AM

Larry Schug:
Wonderful in all ways.
Posted 05/11/2026 10:51 AM

Buckner14:
I wish my husband, an avid gardener, were alive tp see this poem. He would applaud every image! So do I.
Posted 05/11/2011 01:26 PM

Ben Bulben:
A beautiful poem--fresh, elemental images and a propulsive energy to the whole poem. Especially liked "the fantasies of the cabbage grub"!
Posted 05/11/2011 11:23 AM

KevinArnold:
Starting with an incredible first stanza, Violet creates a world filled with randomness and implicit forgiveness. A verdant landscape, lush.
Posted 05/11/2011 09:04 AM

Patricia Esposito:
This is beautiful--fresh and lovely images that wake our senses and bring us to that state of living now, in every detail.
Posted 05/11/2011 08:11 AM

Gail Goepfert:
Lovely images! Ah, "the aging of rain."
Posted 05/11/2011 08:00 AM

flygal716:
Beautiful! ~Toby
Posted 05/11/2011 05:41 AM

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