Lichen, Part 2 of Nature's Hidden Secrets Poetry Series

Walking the old graveyard

Green speckled lichen

Across the stone 

 

A partnership

Fungus and Algae

Life in symbiosis

Where neither could alone 

 

Life from Death? 

The return to the earth continues

Stone becomes soil once again 

The gentle chemistry 

The patient work 

Over so many years 

Quiet, consistent 

 

A long time from now

A child, running with her dog 

Across this ground 

Long after our buildings 

And names

Are gone 

The stone, now soil 

Holds the dog's quick feet

And the laughing girl 

As the cycle continues 

Mycelium, Part I of Nature's Hidden Secrets Poetry Series

 Her office wall holds a print

A bright red mushroom

Standing alone in a forest

We think of old stories

Children's books

And smile

A small, bright comfort 

A fleeting moment 

We visit

And then forget 

But, OH! 

We are missing the most astonishing part!

There is no mushroom

Without what lies beneath

Under the soil 

Beneath our boot prints

Along the trail

Among the trees

And the soft scented duff

An entire network

Far more reliable than the one in your office

It carries signals

Feeds the many

Shares what is needed

We get so busy

That what we do not see 

Does not exist for us 

And yet, what we miss