E. Ariana Thornton
Philips Exeter Academy
At my childhood home in Ashburn, surrounded
by woods and hills, I watch my mom tend
her many-hued garden from
behind the kitchen sliding-glass doors.
Today, I join her:
crouching
close to the dirt in a floppy pink sun hat, pulling
weeds or planting seeds (Chinese okra,
parsley, strawberries),
relishing the sensation of wet earth in my small palm,
the dewy grass dampening my bare feet. Swiftly
I’m reminded of photographs from
National Geographic Kids Magazine,
of breathing soil and centuries-old trees,
earthworms my hands are
cupped around. I dash around
our living yard,
breathless, laughing,
imagining the Earth’s ovenlike core rumbling
beneath my feet—upon my fingertips,
the blessings of the atmosphere.
Photo by Megan Chopra (Sidwell Friends School)
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