A Verdant Upgrade
Poetry by Jayanthi Rangan
They were warned by neighbors
To cut their lawn to set standards
They didn’t
Instead, they held a community meeting
And said:
To make a golf-y lawn fifty shades
of green
Bush it more, diversify
Rock it with inspiring words
Individualize, Trellis-ize
Let a visual swap be born
For millennials & generation Z
This alternate lush is no longer a queen
Waving/smiling from yesteryear
But an ecofriendly Greta Thunberg
Reducing chemicals and water gush
Requesting sustainability
And to incentivize
hardy groundcovers
Mow it less, let it grow
Let a micro paddy field
dance in the yards
Clear the insecticide – naturalize
Create some wild
Trim this fat from the pyramid –
Minimize the lawn area
Lawns are water guzzlers
High maintenance
Is this what we want
Folks wanting the eye-candy green courses
Were loud, urgent: Yes, this is what we want
The thinkers thought
What if unique lawn-less common area
Increased the house value
To cut their lawn to set standards
They didn’t
Instead, they held a community meeting
And said:
To make a golf-y lawn fifty shades
of green
Bush it more, diversify
Rock it with inspiring words
Individualize, Trellis-ize
Let a visual swap be born
For millennials & generation Z
This alternate lush is no longer a queen
Waving/smiling from yesteryear
But an ecofriendly Greta Thunberg
Reducing chemicals and water gush
Requesting sustainability
And to incentivize
hardy groundcovers
Mow it less, let it grow
Let a micro paddy field
dance in the yards
Clear the insecticide – naturalize
Create some wild
Trim this fat from the pyramid –
Minimize the lawn area
Lawns are water guzzlers
High maintenance
Is this what we want
Folks wanting the eye-candy green courses
Were loud, urgent: Yes, this is what we want
The thinkers thought
What if unique lawn-less common area
Increased the house value
About the Writer
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Jayanthi Rangan's poems are her activism and a fighting tool. This poem deals with high-maintenance chemical lawns. Our world has drought areas and places with clean water shortage. We need to change our yesteryear aesthetic and re-imagine our lawny landscape. California has already provided subsidies for those who have reduced their lawns. Jayanthi's recent poem publications are with Zoetic Press, Stonecrop, Rubbertop, Eclectica, Elevation Review, Rigorous, Poet's Choice, Wingless Dreamer and Indolent Books.
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