Poetry
The Woodland
A precious place,
Rare as a gem
Fruit of nature's compassion
Growing free,
High, dense and green -
Plant varieties mingle,
The seen and the unseen.
The towering chestnut,
The humble elder,
Protect the ground
For nature's tenure
Colonising bare soil,
Uncompromised by
Tarmac, fence or wall.
Water meets earth,
Leaves pattern the sky
May blossoms freely
Sprout on stark
Branch and bough;
Scents, sounds and textures
The woods bestow.
Even in a parched spring
The ghost of the stream lives on.
Plants wait for fresh rainfall
Dew and water surge. Season
After season, in leaf and stem:
Sap falls and rises, plants
Wither and grow again.
© Sophie Brown May 1994