2004/sprinklers

The neighbors
sprinklers spit
and swish,
a broad arc
across his well
tended yard.
He liked cactus
but his wife wants
lawn.(grass)
Our grass continues
to shrink,
the dirt border
expanding where
sprinklers don’t
reach.
The gardener
does nothing.
I ask you to
adjust the heads,
but something
goes wrong with
that.
Progress eludes
me.
Nothing I do
seems to slow
the deterioration,
the decay.

9/11/04