- Cole W. Williams
Mulching Series

MULCHING SERIES
An Observation on Our Need to Control Our Lawns
to mulch 1
mulching
to assume
all is well below
and no weeds
persist
to mulch 2
to tuck in
and tidy your dress
so that corset to bodice
create
a seamless preservation
to mulch 3
obsessive pitch-forking
we thirst for
this fork like
we’ve sown something
long before
to mulch 4
first day
we glitter our eyes
to the settled dust
as perfectly placed perennial
buttons pop
to mulch 5
so that you control
thin strips of turf
to accompany guests
their footsteps to your door
de-cluttered
to mulch 6
plants will rise
from this wood bed
no matter how high
mulch is stacked
to mulch 7
a sure sign we
control the earth
and color it an
improved hue of red
to mulch 8
a disorderly bunch
these chips that escape the line
annoyed at their free-roaming
transgressions
to mulch 9
mulching
because without it
is dirt
and dirt is barbaric
nurturing the miscreant
and anything could happen
to mulch 10
explain this
Woodland Garden
to me again
we don’t remove sticks
we don’t remove leaves
…and we don’t mulch
—Cole W. Williams