The Ivy

I planted Ivy to hide the dirt, to cover the rocks
And to call the house a quaint cottage. It has
Stretched to cover the pathway to the door,
To cover the porch where other homes have
Neighbors gather with coffee and talk and
Small laughter. The Ivy I planted has made
Our porch a quiet and lonely stretch of wild,
Made on a small scale, where no one laughs
Or drinks or smokes or even talks of the each
Day happenings of social lives. I planted the
Ivy and it became a mirror of the way I have
Been living; a wilderness of quiet, of the aloof
Thoughts and of self-concern. There is no
Invitation for coffee or tea, it chokes small
Talk like it chokes away at the brick columns
To either side of the porch. I am hidden
By green walls and ceiling of my own planting.