The Gardener

If I could plunge my hands
into the soil here in my Northern backyard
& reach all the way to your Southern abode,
believe me, darlin’, I would,
just to brush the tips of your fingers,
exchange some of my lake sand
for some of your ocean sand, the chance
to smell your salt in the air again.

—

Caitlin Johnson holds an MFA from Lesley University. Her work has appeared in various print and online outlets. A chapbook, Boomerang Girl, was published in 2015 by Tiger’s Eye Press, and a full-length collection, Gods in the Wilderness, was published in 2016 by Pink.Girl.Ink. Press.