Kirk is a horticulturist, a master gardener, and a former employee of the “Nature Conservatory.” Kirk has also worked in restoration ecology.
Kirk is the father of three sons and has five grandchildren. He was born and raised in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side and has lived in several locations including Hawaii and New York City.
He remains active in a variety of conservative efforts in DeKalb County and elsewhere. Kirk enjoys writing, landscape design, and the continued study of botany and music.
His poem “I Love Every Leaf” was inspired in part while resting in his small woodland garden.
I love every leaf
every last one of them
sculpted by the wind, the rain
the hand of God
no less exquisite than
the human form no less ordained
painted by the seasons and the sun
from the prying eyes
from the dull drums
ever vein every midrib
every margin and petiole
so perfectly formed
where will I be
when the leaves
leave the trees
where will I go to so enjoy
the sound of their fluttering
where will I find the shadows
and the dappled light they lend
what will I do
when the last leaf falls
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
