I staked my claim on him

Planting exotic fruit

the shape of stars

With blood red flesh

With heady blooms

We tended

Plucking away invaders

I pruned and shaped

He built cages 

To keep marauders 

From his prize tomatoes

I saw

A verdant rampant

Earthly utopia

He

A bridge twixt 

Hunger and labour

And then I planted mint

It would hold intruders at bay

It would gift us 

A carpet of scent, 

of tea, 

of taste

Of chocolate,

of pineapple, 

of Vietnam 

And it did 

for a while

Then we turned our back

And it's tendrils

Covered the bare earth

Beyond paths and clumps

It spread and climbed un contained

He drew battle lines

The orchard his to control

He won

The mint is gone

So is he, and the orchard

And I find myself

Without my orchard

Looking at empty supermarket shelves

Searching for

Mint