Winter's warriors

(Today's prompt was to write an elegy, described as a love poem to the dead. I chose to look out at my garden once again, where in the early spring death and life co-mingle.)

For the bean and brussels sprout stalks that stand in the back,
withered yet stalwart like soldiers,
we salute you.

Your spent legs held our soil in check,
building new life with minerals and nutrients,
saddling in the old soil
to alleviate erosion.

Soon you will find a home beneath the earth,
where you will become agents of the decay
into which new stalks will root in their quest
for life.

For now, after the snow,
yet before the shovel and plow,
stand tall and greet the sun.
Experience the warm kiss
of spring's warmth,
then go, quietly, to rest.