Why Do I Do It?

Why do I seed prairie grasses
in autumn
in plug trays where they will sleep
through the winter

and wait and watch for new shoots
in spring
tending summer’s growth
before setting them in the fields?

Why do the hard work of digging
planting them
in hard or mucky soil so they settle in
before autumn’s rain

and wait through the long winter
to see
how they fare when awakened
in spring ?

Why give myself to this labor
seesawing
between surety and doubt
that my efforts are not in vain

and hope that small beings will come
and feed
and raise their hungry families
in safety?

Only this
Because of love