💾 Archived View for alioop.flounder.online › poems › rotmother.gmi captured on 2023-09-08 at 15:52:26. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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another layer
of leaf litter added
to the forest floor
where generations of oak leaves,
pine needles,
thistle and fruit
rot in the most beautiful dance
of life.
waltzing fungi,
quickstep mushrooms,
black beetles
and shimmying worms,
escort this life back into the earth
from which it came.
and the daylight grows shorter,
and the sunrises paler,
and the mist colder,
the frost thicker,
until the autumnal stars
are rarely seen through the
woolen clouds that blanket
the cold, slumbering earth.
soon the Rot Mother will rest
and all will grow calm and quiet.
a temporary death,
a frozen life.
the chickadees will bounce from
branch to stark branch,
searching for berries and
seeds, perching on
a patient witch’s outstretched hand,
and then, quick, disappearing like
curling hot breath
in cold air
back into the thickets.
when the first snow falls
it will fall soft
like a whisper.
the flakes will
rest gently
upon the doe’s eyelashes
as she scans the
open, dusted fields.
her hooves will
press into the soft mud,
not yet frozen.
she will look to the
white, soft sky,
and the snow
will keep falling.