Photosynthesis, poem read on the eco-poetic walk in Pacific Spirit Park, March 24, 2018

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Carl Leggo

when I write

a poem I begin

by laying down

letters and words

even though I

seldom know

where the words

will take me

 

I am always on

a Winnie the Pooh

meandering explore

that might lead

somewhere but

probably will not

 

I must be patient:

how many colors

of green are there?

can the colors

of green be counted?

 

Rita’s photo does not

call my attention

to a punctum

 

instead I am lost

in the maze     maelstrom

chaos     except I am not

really lost     I feel

a sense of belonging

here     a sense I cannot

make simple sense

of this image composed

of shadow lines colors

 

I see the sunlight

in the gaps     I gasp

because I also see

the light in the leaves

 

I can almost see

photosynthesis at work

the leaves convert

light energy into

chemical energy

and oxygen for

sustaining life

on Earth     I want

to attend to light

I want to know

synthesis     I want

to acknowledge

how the parts are

put together     made

wonder     full

like art and poetry

 

I will learn to breathe

with the tree like

pulmonary veins

carry oxygen

from lungs to heart

 

I will linger

with Rita’s art

so I can see with

the heart how all

of life is created

connected     sustained

by intricate networks

of communication

steeped in love

 

At Nitobe Garden

with six students

upside down

in the pond

 

a koki wonders

who we are, where

we came from

 

dew-soaked moss

on the lantern

light’s memory

 

the maples

gnarled like

an old man’s feet

 

garden composed

behind a wall

isolated from

 

the world outside

the koki knows

nothing about

 

a gunshot crack

hawk swoops soars

with empty talons

 

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