Lawnmower Sestina
'The act of mowing a lawn is spiritually depleting'
                                              - Murray Bail

Most complaint is boasting in disguise:
this maxim shapes itself in my mind
while I propel the motor-mower
in circles round that corner of the lawn
where the outdoor table stands upon a square
of brickwork. Who would suspect the pleasure

in this circular routine, such pleasure
that, I'm told, my expression can't disguise
a silent exultation as the lawn
is transformed by the action of the mower,
its surface made as even as the square,
as repetition works to smooth the mind.

It is exertion which I do not mind,
...