Khai Eng

Transforming a plot
That was lifeless and dry
Smothered in carpet
And destined to die
A classic Beech
Pulling nutrients fast
Neglected for years
There the die cast
The true historicity
Wildness took charge
Draining the top soil
And it was large
The threat to vitality
The essential part
The embodiment really
What became the heart

Of the problem
The drainage
The lack of good soil
Was replaced with hard graft
And considerate toil
The applicable carpet
And lifelessness caused
Was the antidote needed
And what then has paused
The March of the dead pan
The need to fulfill
adequate compost
And genuine will
Hours of reflection
Of weeding and more
Of adding the nutrients
That would be sure

The weeding the seeding
The uniqueness of thought
Pure innovation
So much was sought
And all single handedly
Raked out and hoe’d
Restoring the balance
And breaking the code
The spiral reversed
The soil found it’s worth
Increments added
To add to the earth
Her reinforcements
Day after day
Night after night
It was her way

She turned around a desert
Of rubble and grass
Of what was just lifeless
To what was first class
And she did it by herself
All on her own
Planting and hoping
That all she had sown
Would come to fruition
The tangle and mess
And she was rewarded
For all of that stress
By Nature the mother
Extending her hand
And adding the florals
To brighten the land

Alongside the brassicas
Wildness appeared
A fusion and union
Because she endeared
A symbiosis before our eyes
Where everything flourished.
Because she was wise

Khai Eng it’s your birthday
And look what we see
All the plants joyful
Your remedy
Your spirited soul
Turned it round
We can see
Look at the blossoms on the
Cherry Tree

A billowing rhapsody
The Copper Beech too
Burnished and crimson
And all down to you
Look at the Rosemary
For months it has flowered
All the shrubs and the lilies
And wild plants
Have showered

The garden with forget me knots
Herb Robert too
dandelions laughing
And because of you
Your energy brought them
Your avid embrace
You adherent energy
and your good grace
And now in the sunshine
Such colours we see
The brimstone of broccoli flowers
Smilingly
The fireweed brought in
By the birds who did ply
Over the garden and let the
Seeds fly

And the wood pigeons chorus
It hangs in the air
The corvidae boys and girls
The biscuits they share
The bulbs and the splendour
Of tulips and before
The March of the daffodils
Resplendent and more
A great transformation
Fine by my dear
With your hard work
And study
In all weathers clear
A natural integrity
With pots and with stones
All of your artistry
Really the bones
Of the work you put in
And the wealth we have now
Teeming with life
just because you knew how

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 27th APRIL