Today’s poem is about a phrase I’ve not read a lot in my research but it’s one I like (it’s a possible volume title). The pome I don’t think is quite there yet (at least it doesn’t do exactly what I wanted it to) but I’m tired & it’s getting late.

The Poetic Factoid is yet another reason we shouldn’t give scientists money to research things.

*****

The Third Kingdom 

since 

infancy we are taught
all about our world’s 
wonderful flora & fauna

yet 

there are three F’s 
three kingdoms of life
fungi’s always forgotten

why?

fungi are the glue 
holding earth together
turning waste to nutrients 

&

every plant is linked
intrinsically to fungi via
mycorrhizal symbiosis 

even

our human bodies
are shared with as many 
as 200 fungi in & on us

they are in every sense the keystone kingdom

*****

Day 12 Factoid – Fungi Affects Rodents in Alarming Ways 

friendly fungi

i.
Candida albicans added to the guts 
of mice made them more resilient
to bacterial infections blah blah blah 

ii.
more disturbingly — fungi-mice 
became more sociable (more so
the higher the ratio of gut fungi)

iii.
there is no evidence yet
this study can be extrapolated
to surly humans (thankfully)