reprinted poem

Segmented Worm Defense League


So many enemies;
bird, vole, salamander,
angler, captain of industry,
cruelly misnamed worm snake,
and the burrowers from within:
bacterium, protist, fungus;
they need protectin’!

They meet regularly,
dream of dominion,
pass resolutions,
raid fishing holes,
picket garden fences,
swap genetic material.

Maybe the league itself
is in segments.
(one for grass raising,
one for nematode relations,
one predator, one prey,
bylaws and soil amendments,
and so on)
and has no prejudice
against the worms that are
undivided wholes.


The end


Publ. Fuhu, 2005