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BERKELEY'S NEWS • NOVEMBER 20, 2023

The Staghorn Fern: A poem

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PHILIPP MICHEL REICHOLD | CREATIVE COMMONS

( Philipp Michel Reichold under CC BY-SA 2.0)

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JANUARY 29, 2022

It swings from aching wood above the yard,

afloat, unbothered by an earthly weight;

a strain of creaks and moans leaves silence scarred,

as unreality unfurls and baits.

 

It seems to prosecute through nature’s reign,

green scales atop its olden, rotting skin;

the ropes are burrowed under, ever strained,

and swallowed like the ancient bones within.

 

It begs for my attention and acclaim,

with stretching tendrils pulling at my mind;

a vegetative, dominating aim,

assimilating with mankind.

 

It slows against the wind and points a claw,

one beastly hand among the stolen stash;

“A stag — a pair of antlers for your flaws,”

it says, “so join, despite your mortal ash.”

 

It hosts a world of its invited kin,

and I, though beckoned, fear the ghastly being;

my Mother sees it, looking past its sin,

and says, “It seems the Mother of all things.”

Contact Logan Roscoe at [email protected]
LAST UPDATED

JANUARY 30, 2022


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