Mint Epic, First Instalment

What Minty looked like when I retrieved him from the woods
Should not be told here for it was not good

I took a photo though just to make sure
That once he had recovered from the poor
& pitiable state that he was in
I could prove progress of recovery to him
& other folks who with their eyes
Can see my mint now grow & thrive
& with his handsome stalks reach for the stars
While his strong roots still seek to tear the soil about

And witnessing abundant growth
Such sceptic folk is surely loath
Just to believe the candid truth I tell
Namely that Minty – right into his minutest cell
Was frankly wretched, leafless and half dead
Whilst now – well basically I have just said –

He enjoys a state of perfect green
A prettier herb or flower I have rarely seen
&, although he blossoms sparingly
He stretches out upwards most daringly
As if he tried to break the glass,
Which shields him now from all the harsh
Unfriendly influences of the sky
Which once had unprotected minty nearly die!

It’s surely wiser then to stay inside
Than to want freedom and to never hide
From hail and storm and blizzard, you
Don’t need to ask a wizard to
Lay out the logic of that thought
Yet Minty grows, like he knew nought.

And well, I guess inside my heart
It takes not much science or art
Or any knowledge of that kind
I need to look but shortly and I’ll find
A perfect faculty to understand
Minty’s imprudent, liberal sentiment

For what would Minty’s life then be –
His whole existence mean – had he
Not spent one winter in the wild outdoors
Without a roof or walls or floors
And had he not lived to tell the tale
His whole existence would be stale!

For what’s the point of life when you
Don’t find at least one memorable thing to do?
Days, nights, spent sitting on a window sill
& if you look now, well! He sits there still
How perfectly, awfully tedious
Though safe, how absolutely hideous!

Had it not been for one short journey
To sate & quench the thirst of yearning
A little peril makes the heart grow fonder
If you’ve sat too long then you must wander
Preferably in the unknown
Just to revive the mood and tone
Of that sad life you lead at home
I think the truth of that is shown.

Now though I end this dreary discourse
(You won’t mind, you never miss bores)
My Minty’s story isn’t told
Quite to its end though now I fold
This sheet and shut the book
Another day I’ll take another look
At Minty’s life and all he’s done
What we might learn from it, when we’ve begun
To understand the wisdom he
Obtained in life through joy and misery
So if you please I gladly welcome ye
To sit in house, or yard, or balcony
And listen to the wondrous tale
Of this uncommon hero who was once for sale
(But that’s another story to be told
Some other day, when other plotlines will unfold)