Blind Gardener

Sightless as trees,
He understands the urgencies of light,
And reads burnished chronicles of growth
Like Braille upon stalk and tendril.
No web, no syllable of blight
Eludes his scope
Whose fingers spell out autumn
Before one leaf reddens.

Sarah Singer is the author of three books of verse; the latest was published in 1992. Her poems have appeared in The New York Times, Yankee, The Christian Science Monitor, McCall's, and Voices International, as well as several anthologies. Her awards include five from the Poetry Society of America.