Page 26 - SPRING 2024 News and Views
P. 26
Transplant Shock Nikki Vesey
I delighted in my sunny spot There is a brittle clip, clip, clip
Next to the blackberry bush The wrinkled ugly parts of me
My hardy neighbour expounding generosity Drop to the ground
With her dark sweet fruit Those I am not proud of
As the summer days rolled by My shame gradually falling away
Human agitation pulsates
The photinia looking down on us As they fuss, fuss, fuss with their watering can
Her red green leaves whispering softly Are these glimmers of love?
My tall stems stretching proudly
A multitude of yellow ready to explode They look on me and talk of parenting
With magnificent splendour Words of nurture echo around me
A dance of nature Doubtful tones swirl around
Weaving her magic in the air Their hopeful grasp for recovery
I am an orphan
The wrenching was sudden Yet could I be the child they speak of?
An uprooting with no warning
Clinging to the soil A tentative stirring in the darkness
Fighting separation from my homeland A seeking for the source of life
I am thrust into a new and barren hole My roots breaking through the trauma
The bare white wall around me With patient care above the surface
A stifling heat beating down In the realm of light
The humans looking on expectantly The succour from the earth
Awaiting my unquestioned performance Becomes small specks of possibility
My blooming their prize to claim Upon my stems
And finally a leafy greenness
Yet unfamiliarity Dares to make its statement
Lack of attunement
To my new surroundings Soaking in the rays of brilliant warmth
Catapults me into shock An energy responding to a call to go forth
To put down roots and thrive A catalyst propelling me towards my destiny
In this foreign landscape An exponential symphony of growth
A paralysing concept Reclaiming my floral wonder
Proclaiming the purpose for which I came to
Anxiety hovers on the breeze this garden
And I am rendered helpless
As the colour drains from my leaves The honeysuckle conversing with the bees
And my buds droop Drawing me towards their harmony
I am withering and lost An invitation to settle and cease my protest
My trust broken To find connection with new neighbours
My needs cast aside I am filled with glorious anticipation
But what is this? Perhaps the humans meant well
A second uprooting? But they might learn
Their hands upon my roots That change requires consideration
A loosening of tension Transition preparation
As the old soil falls away A careful easing into new ways of being
And then I am back in my hole In new places of flourishing
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