It's NAPOWRIMO!

Well well well...
It's April, National Poetry Month. Of course, I'm attempting to write a poem a day.
Today's prompt from napowrimo.net was to write a poem in the form of instructions. They provided John Ashbery's "The Instruction Manuel" for a little inspiration. I decided to write about patio gardening, and how it's a metaphor for being joyful in difficult times. My poem isn't quite there yet, but I like the idea, and hope to come back to it later. Here's what I've got so far, my NAPO #1.

Eve Tries to Garden in the Fallen World

I look out my window to the fallen world—

The clouds of smog hovering just above the city,

The vast expanse of concrete, the tiny patches

Of green, and I almost forget it’s spring.

I know that I can grow a tiny patch of paradise

Here on this patio. I plant natives. They remember

This land before the freeway sliced it in two.

I believe in the impossible, that this season

Of plenty will last forever. I soften the dirt

With my hands. I refuse to let my dreams

Of wilderness shrivel up as they breathe in

The exhale of these oil refineries. I drench

The roots with living water, make it rain daily

From the faucet of hope, let it bead on the buds,

Catch the sunlight, and shine. I fertilize with coffee grounds,

Ashes, and gentle streams of love. And I know that miracles

Happen. I’ve seen them open like a blossom

Before my very eyes. This morning, the resurrection

Visited this barren patio as my begonias burst

To life again, a flash of orange and yellow,

And invited the honey bees to come, take refuge

In this little patch of paradise, of color,

Blooming bright against the grey of this city,

Like an unexpected moment of joy.