POLLEN ON THE LITTLE POND

 

Pollen grains float on the air;

green and yellow clouds

obscure and coat the landscape and water

in a haze of vague imagery

that unsettles the eyes’ mastery

of light and shadows.

 

They blockade the pond’s surface

          with strands of froth and sludge

                    that slowly move to the water’s edge

                             on wind drafts and water ripples.

 

Until there is a thick outline

          around a description of the surrounding trees

                    and a deep sky above. 

 

Until the pollen grains become embedded

          in the muddy sediment

                   where water meets field,

                             and millennia from now

                             core samples of earth

                                       will hold fossilized grains,

                                                 like dinosaur bones,

                                                          to let others know

                                    

                   What ancient flora

                           lived here in my time.

 

cmheuer©05/2024