Dunaway Gardens

a poem by Jennifer Rae Bigham

It was like a jungle, snakes and spiders did abound
But there was something else, another sound
The ever-present low moan, as if in pain
A garden weeping, not knowing if it would ever be same

 

There was a deathwatch; no birds would even fly overhead
She was slowly being choked and strangled, and was aware of that with a certain dread

 

The garden was a place of beauty at one time
She would put on a show, year after year that was absolutely divine

 

She knew she had been special, which made her hurt even more
Because she had been abandoned and left to rot on the cold earthen floor

 

Decades passed and nobody seemed to care
A national treasure was left in a decayed state of disrepair

 

That is until one day a man, his wife and their children happened upon this site
And the wife said to her husband, “I think this place is magnificent” and she smiled with delight.

 

So, the love affair began on that fated day between Dunaway Gardens, this man and his wife
For they made it their mission, with undaunted fervor, to assist this forgotten garden back to life

 

They hired a crew of men, machetes in hand
To begin the process to uncover this valuable land

 

Month after month they worked from sun-up to sundown
Always excited at the close of day at what they had found

 

For the place had rock walls everywhere
It’s beauty so stunning you had to stop and stare

 

Collection pools that were buried, now were found
Something else was different… there was sound

 

Birds were back, beginning to chirp and sing
The sound had a magical, glorious ring

 

The earth was pungent, rich and dark
Flowers burst through the soil…eager to make their mark

 

The work continues, the transformation not complete
They will not be slowed down, not for cold or heat

 

For this garden is awake now, she is through licking her wounds
She is ready for laughter and music with beautiful tunes

 

The waterfalls have patiently waited their turn
Water flowing over their rocks now feels right, much like salve cools a burn

 

The gardens are eager to put on a show
She is happy now and radiant in her splendor because of a secret she knows:

 

She was nurtured back to health through the
grace of God because a man and his wife
knew the medicine it would take…
and that medicine was called LOVE.