It’s Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Ruth at her blog, There is no Such Thing as a God Forsaken Town, HERE. Thank you, Ruth! I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us.
Earlier this month, I came across this creepy image, on Laura Shovan’s blog, as a prompt for poets. The photo came from The Alliance for Chesapeake Bay. I’d never seen anything like it. No, they are not human hands. But they sure do look like human hands, dead ones.
So, I thought, did I really want to write about this gruesome image, the fungus OSCOMYCETOUS? Of course I did! And I will share my poem:
THE STRANGE BEAUTY OF THE OSCOMYCETOUS FUNGUS
Dead man’s fingers—
arthritic, furtive
fungal reproductions
of human digits, pointing
upward from the decay
on the forest floor.
A reminder in dull gray-yellow
that living things,
even us, are recycled
in diverse fashion
after death.
Though I admire
the cleverness of nature,
if I’m destined
for such an afterlife,
I’d rather be a toadstool.
©Janice Scully 2021
This is just a prompt, I’m not normally so gruesome. Some good things are actually happening even in the midst of this pandemic. Over the last month it’s clear that Covid is no longer being ignored.
Stay warm and safe.