#52weeksofnaturepoetry Week 23 – Old Timers

In return for appreciation of its rays, the sun

bestows cloaks on everything it touches.  Swishy

cuts of darkness, lengthening or shortening

depending on the gift giver’s fancy.

But what of those it rarely touches, beings

which get only the sparsest sprinklings of gold, or

are shunned by it altogether, existing within

those cloaked spaces?

Are they ever considered by anyone?

Patches of green everywhere,

ranging from

vast and feathered ferns

to mosses and liverworts

with minute leaves and ruffles,

often wet to the touch and covered in curious

craters and mini umbrellas

rising like antennae.

All of them survivors

making the most

of their surroundings;

reproducing via spores,

not seeds or pups.

They’ve endured for eons, needing to evolve little

compared to many species.

So, exactly how much thought do we give these primitive old timers?

Barely any

unless

they’re messing with the neatness

of our preciously manicured gardens.

This poem is part of a project I’m doing to raise money for the RSPB, a UK wildlife conservation and protection charity. Being autistic, nature is often my only place of solace, and I want to do all I can to protect it. As I’m not very comfortable around other people, most of the standard ways of helping out (volunteering, ‘traditional’ fundraisers etc.) were not a good fit for me, so I came up with #52weeksofnaturepoetry, where I have to post a nature poem here on this blog each week for an entire year without fail.

If you’d like to help, please share this poem to encourage others to take joy in nature, and if you have the time and means to donate, you can do so here. Let’s help keep our wildlife wild!

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Sparking joy

The sand sweeps across the pavement and over our trainers as we scan the beach and the laughing waves. You lean on the railing next to me, talking about how our heads never bumped in the years we’ve worked together and how it’s only now we finally see we had a friend there all along. Mr Crow stalks up behind you, eyeing the decorative chains on your trousers, captivated by the sun’s glint that has also clutched my attention. I point him out and we watch him strut, then make our own way back along the front. Those chains of yours clink together as we walk, side by side and in step, not knowing how close we are until our shoulders touch.

Afternoon in an empty park

The sun rests on my eyelids as I lie back,

the woven rope of the round swing-seat supporting my neck and spine

as I sway to and fro,

legs kicking out for momentum.

A cradle I’m rocking myself,

an afternoon whose warm hands soothe me without effort

and the breeze whispering its encouragements in my ears.

So this is what it means to relax.

Depths

And upon the shore the waves         crashed         spraying crystals

at her feet        as she waited for the sun

to sink.

Nova

There are stars.

 

Forming in every moment, every breath,

every beat of a living heart.

Even as one dies, another is born.

But these stars

spend most of their time

invisible —

or perhaps it is simply that we

lack the ability to see them

in our narrow, bittersweet view

of reality; reality

that is only such

because the vast majority believe it

to be so.

Yet if we’re observant,

if we’re true

and if we’re willing to lower our wards

just for the briefest of moments,

these stars can creep in

to our lives

and change our perspectives

at times

when we may think all sight is lost.

And if they’re particularly strong

they’ll never leave.

They’ll be beside you forever,

helping you create your very own star

that in turn

can light their way.

Light and Space

The universe is in a light bulb.

Stardust coating the filament,

specks of light in the distance

expanding ever outwards,

and comets passing by.

 

The galaxy is in a puff of smoke,

swirling off into the wind.

Planets, stars, dark matter,

all gone in an instant,

or drawn back the next

Little bean

I’m a cosy sprout

in a little bean coat,

waiting for the sun

to brighten my cheeks,

and the rain

to water my throat.

Miss Universe

And I can see the stars

swirling around on her dress,

a meteor shower by her ankles,

an eclipse over her shoulders.

Her earrings are red dwarfs,

her rouge made of cosmic dust.

She freezes the solar systems

and puts them in her iced tea,

which she sips as she admires the galaxies

framed forever on her walls.

The death of stars

the twilight of the night, voiceless, yet screaming. can you appreciate her delicate embrace; a mother snarling at injustice, retching up her pain as tears streak her face.

Shell shocked

We feel the lap of the waves against our toes
Squealing with delight at the crisp cold
Enthused so much that we don’t notice
The purpling of our skin or the way the waves
Are trying to gulp us down
Into the the sand to lie
Amongst the shells.