Barrio Garden

shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe

backyard sanctuary

for all seasons

under the shade of a chinaberry tree

yerba buena   rue   rosemary

in coffee cans   truck tire

helped along with monsoon summer rain

marigolds fill an abandoned

rusty mailbox

repurposed tea kettle

shell back vintage metal lawn chairs

clay chiminea for crisp autumn nights

smokey roasting chili peppers

under a harvest moon

winter frosts bring out

luminarias and punched tin

candle lanterns

lights strung on cactus

boughs brought down the mountain

red chili ristras from ranches

start again with

orange blossom perfumed air

la naranja buzzy with honey bees

desert marigolds   mallows

pink penstemons pop

as this desert neighborhood

springs back to life

Poem and photograph by Lisa Periale Martin

Lisa Periale Martin is a poet, writer, librarian, mariachi aficionado, and former farmworker. Her writing is steeped in the essence and wonder of the Sonoran Southwest. Tiny Seed, Claw and Blossom, Plants & Poetry Journal, and Harpy Hybrid Review have published her work. Two recent poems are featured in a Chax Press chapbook, POG 2021.