Marestail Coiled stems beam from the earth. It has fought to survive for centuries, waited in darkness, seven feet down, until light ascends it to the sky. White tendrils, trapped by time, sleeping in a
Marestail
Coiled stems beam from the earth.
It has fought to survive for centuries,
waited in darkness, seven feet down,
until light ascends it to the sky.
White tendrils, trapped by time,
sleeping in a clay layered bed,
a thousand histories curled,
in each sure, determined reach.
It is an algorithm, rain driven,
surfacing, as a green tide,
inevitable life exploding -
coded, then poised, in readiness.
We delude ourselves that it is conquered.
In mud flux, it waits, reinvents itself,
a Trojan in the soil, a clever trick.
Alison Jones
Alison Jones is a teacher, and writer with work published in a variety of places, from Poetry Ireland Review, Proletarian Poetry and The Interpreter’s House, to The Green Parent Magazine and The Guardian. She has a particular interest in the role of nature in literature and is a champion of contemporary poetry in the secondary school classroom. Her pamphlet, ‘Heartwood’ was published by Indigo Dreams in 2018, with a second pamphlet. ‘Omega’, and a full collection forthcoming in 2020.