Summer Sonnet

This is probably my favorite form of poetry. I've always used the Shakespearian rhyme pattern, but this one is my first using the Petrarchan pattern. And don't worry--I'm not expecting again! It's just my device to celebrate the fecundity of the earth and Deity.

My heavy shovel turns the dirt aside
The clods of grass are severed by the roots,
While scurry by some beetles, ants, and newts
And creatures that within the earth do hide.
As I survey this ground, my plot so wide
I see the furrows rise beneath my boots,
Bare buds secede to flowers, then to fruits--
My vision for this garden spot untried.
I place my hand where curves my middle part
And feel to hum a lullaby quite low.
I feel a movement deep below my heart
Such beauty strikes my soul, and I am shown
that One who in Creation has a part
The gracious Gardener makes good things to grow.