It’s strange how often the poem you set out to write, morphs into something unexpected. I began the evening playing with climate “cliches” — things deniers say to disprove/discredit the science — & trying to tweak them into new forms. Which lead to a poem I’m pretty pleased with using a quote from Ronald Reagan (implementor of the neo-liberal “experiment” in America). Because I like its potential, I’m only going to share a few lines: the opening ones & ones near the very end to give a taste of it.
Today’s Poetic Factoid practically wrote itself as the idea/awareness has been in my mind ever since I read Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World several years ago. There are so many cool tree facts I could write dozens of factoids & one day just might … one fact I couldn’t fit in this time, is that trees can recognise their own kin!
NB These poems were written yesterday, but when I startled myself awake at the keyboard at 12.22am I realised I needed to go to bed & upload them later. Hence, this…
*****
barking up
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The second best is today.neo-liberals have long believed a tree is just a tree
how many must you look at to know a forest?no doubt Reagan & his ilk never planted a tree
under whose shade — they never expected to sit
*****
trees are connected : by their toetips
via : an underground fungal internet
the wood wide web : a mycorrhizal
symbiosis of mutual benefit : root-clinging
fungi aids tree absorb extra water & nutrients
from soil : tree reciprocates by sharing :
tasty photosynthesised sugars
trees even text : messaging : when insects
attack : the victim warns : trigger defences :
networks have hubs : older : larger : “mothers”
connected to : hundreds of younger ones
who send : excess carbon through the system
to understory seedlings : quadrupling
their chance of surviving
more evidence : of collective strength : over separatism
gareth roi poet boi 