Ode to the Back Patio

Mitchell Juers
School of Education


Can you fit a whole relationship in a space that is only
six feet deep
and
18 feet across?
Certainly, you can fit the trinkets
bought at street fairs together, and the gifts—
both desired and not—
received from both of your parents.
Are the bird feeders and planters
just things,
or are they products of the endless give and take
of gratitude
of concessions
of love?
No, I do not think you can fit
a whole relationship in that space, but
I think you can fit enough.