. . . m a g i c s o f a . . .

. . .

Kingdom

gazing eyes see the forest
grounded trunks rooted stone quiet
misty and slow and timeless
cashmere soft moss clutching buxom lignin muscles
almost always sleeping
only opening leaves to catch droplets and photons
growing as slowly as earth rotates
in the grand scheme it's pretty quick
but in the monkey's fist, a stick, two hundred years old
it knows the monkey's mother, and her mother, and hers
its knowledge hides away from creatures

stoic plants feel, in the wind
a blur, a frenzy
generations of animals smear away in time
flashy and fast and cunning
gripping claw scratches kicking dust up from the crust
always pricked ears
only closing one eye during the night
dashing through dreams between days
that last only for a beat
and in their veins
slow memories digest
what it was like to run and be singular
and die as quickly as the sun whips around the earth
unattainable for the trees standing in colonies

secret mushroom clusters forget
the forest, the fauna
piles of death discarded for dismantling
imperfect and differentiated and broken
frothy sinew tangle dripping guts gristle and skin
ready for destruction
only living so that the clock is exhausted
crumbling as slowly as possible
but what's the point, wonders the fungus
who merely has to wait for your frail body
to be cracked, bludgeoned, cut down,
twitching, spewing, rotting
and then forget

. . .

(written 3/25/18)

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