Write, the instructor prompted, about one soul meeting another
I look up from the screen to see Mario
Our newly hired gardener
Bringing a heavily laden wheelbarrel of sand
To enrich – or perhaps I should say de-rich?
The clay soil beneath the window
Where Woody has created a rocky dry stream bed
And I will create a succulent garden

Now that Woody has laid the rocks
And Mario the sand
I can plant the hardy succulents

With such richness right before my eyes
Such richness of effort meeting effort
What image arises in my mind?
The sole of my shoe
With the damp red clay soil
Soul of the earth 
Clinging to it