It really is a lovely plum.

Still, I think I'll take the golden mulberry

And a plain deciduous privet hedge,

To screen the patio and porch this fall.

​

​

No, wait. Does privet ever come

Sterile? I just don't want the wind to carry

Any seeds around. They'll sprout on the edge

Of the myrtle bed, or in the limestone wall.

​

​

​

It wouldn't do, allowing some

Silly seeds to root. It's almost scary,

And I don't want even one. It's like the wedge

Of a stranger's foot in the doorway to my hall.