THE GARDENERS' GANG
They have their base in an old garage in ruins
at the end of a short gravel driveway
hidden behind a big green iron gate
and I run across them almost every morning
a few minutes to eight
as they get ready for another working day
bringing ladders, chain saws and any kind of tool
that they might need during the day
from the garage to the street where their trucks are parked
over breezy chats
five or six guys in boots
all young, around my age
and all confident-looking
and as I walk by I wonder how it might be if one of these days
instead of continuing my walk toward the office
I stopped by and joined the gang
Walter Franceschi is the author of Little Satori from Longhouse, see image of booklet below. From his home in Molino del Piano (a small town 15km from Florence) he has been writing to me of the goings-on in his neighborhood, and sometimes about these workers. I suggested he write a poem or two, and he's good for that and maybe even more. His poems often celebrate the very things we may overlook and may even miss entirely. There is great value in that.
