Leaves of three, let it be scourge of hikers, golfers with exposed knees Lush or stemmed or ashed Transforms my legs, arms, body into a rash. Dared to be aligned with oak Nastiest of weeds in an evil cloak an itch, a burn, a constant scream No calamine can ease this demon green. And yet Indigenous tribes used its leaves created poultices from its angry seeds For rattlesnake bites or dysentery A more forgiving apothecary.
Poison Oak
ReplyDeleteLeaves of three, let it be
scourge of hikers, golfers with exposed knees
Lush or stemmed or ashed
Transforms my legs, arms, body into a rash.
Dared to be aligned with oak
Nastiest of weeds in an evil cloak
an itch, a burn, a constant scream
No calamine can ease this demon green.
And yet
Indigenous tribes used its leaves
created poultices from its angry seeds
For rattlesnake bites or dysentery
A more forgiving apothecary.
Rick Stepp-Bolling
The dunes,
ReplyDeletefor a child an endless playground.
For plants and animals, an eternal blanket of existence.
Sanddune sedge~~
carex pansa
calflora <3
Drive through places
ReplyDeleteScrub oak and stone
Hewn close to dry land and casting islands of shadow
Dark pools in hills of golden grass.
Leaves like ears shriveled by wind and not enough conversation
But you’ll never once hear them complain
No matter how
Heat blistered
Old
we love our oak
ReplyDeletehere is my desert home
shade to the coyote