TERRACING
A tapestry of plants drapes down the cliff,
pegged into height by paths, stone platters, beds
hedged by wild lilacs, rhododendrons, stiff
conifers. Start low, press the zigzag treads
with feet that wonder at the kinky climb
to airborne lettuces and floating sheds,
to cloud-capped bird-baths, parachuting thyme,
azaleas that glide like butterflies.
Listen to the campanulas chime
from towering ledges, where hydrangeas rise
blue against sky reflected in the sea.
The landscaper, Earth-mover in disguise,
has tipped on end horizontality,
lifted our level eyes from now to if,
released for our flat nostrils a fresh whiff
of soaring phlox and dizzy rosemary.
