WINNER
THE WILDNESS
BY SHARON S SUMMERVALE
You float the mower over your bright green lawn snipping only the tips of each blade of grass. Levelling the green carpet, so neatly shorn, leaving a million clipped green blades en masse.
You plod along the wide and empty expanse like a partner-less fool in a lonely dance. On and on you mow this perfect patch of grass, crisp and precise, the lawn sparkling shards of glass.
Along the edge, borders of flowers stand proud, dancing in bold colours like a vibrant crowd. Pops of pure perfection, bright colours abound, bursting from the rich, earthy-scented dense ground.
Sweet honeysuckle twists and twines up the fence, - sum to early autumn the fragrance so heavy, and sickly intense.
Pretty little orchids flaunt dresses so fine. - early spring to autumn Angelic violas are simply sublime. - early summer to early autumn
Tiny white jasmine stars twinkle in delight - spring to mid-autumn and blue delphiniums wave petals so bright. – summer Great balls of hydrangeas bob with graceful flair, their smooth honey vanilla filling the air.
Deep purple heliotropes dance in the breeze as they offer sweet almond delicacies. The cyclamens shake their pink upside down heads - late summer and autumn as the tulips rise drunkenly from their beds.
Evergreens are a backdrop for bright jewels, where frothy waves of phlox gather in bright pools. Above all others the great red roses stand surveying their rule of the manicured land.
You hate it.