Lesson for Darwin’s altar boy

Sanctuary

among the Lenten Rose -

in its mauve chalices

a host of potent stamens.

 

Genuflect

to weed out wild garlic.

It gets everywhere,

this straggle of bulblets.

 

Make a complete action,

don’t cut it short:

the smallest left pearl

becomes origin.

 

Between joined hands

lies its renewal;

in the crumble of soil

germ enough to start again.

 

Dig deeper down

visible to invisible;

microbes mutate,

surpass our human count.

 

Observe the outcomes,

unfold their lineage –

rich,  inscrutable

as the wisdom of birdsong.

 

Water marks the credo

of a birch’s weeping habit;

shallow roots spread

unseen beyond its drip line.

 

From next-door’s bonfire

the incense of house clearance:

snuff out that flame,

in ashes new-create your kind.

 

 vi.2009