He applies green to everything he paints:
bee hives, railings, the back porch floor,
the siding on the barn, the table where he works.
He wears clover-colored shirts
and, always, always, an olive-colored baseball cap.
So damned much green!
Kelly cloth covers our table.
Our bed sheets enfold us like jungle canopy
and, every spring,
he coaxes fresh sprigs from wet, black earth
and makes a forest of our home.
David Milley's (he/him) recent work appears in Neologism Poetry Journal, Third Wednesday, RFD Magazine, and Last Stanza. His collection of verse, Tiller and Shears, is scheduled for publication by Kelsay Books in the autumn of 2026. David lives in southern New Jersey with his husband and partner of fifty years, Warren Davy, who's made his living as a farmer, woodcutter, nurseryman, auctioneer, beekeeper, and cook. These days, Warren tends his garden and keeps honeybees. David walks and writes.
