On Fauna & Flora

on fauna and flora

I do not pay attention 

to slugs     bees 

foxes   or  vultures 

I am aware they exist  

small  big  slimy  prey

we were never formally introduced

I am not a biologist 

cannot distinguish one from another

I hear the singing of trees

magnificently tall and green

swaying     whispering

I hear the pine   the birch     the oak

but I can’t distinguish one from the other

we have never had a formal introduction 

I am not an arborist

I see a carpet of flowers

covering hills and valleys  

in a poetry of colors  —

red  yellow   purple

I inhale the fragrance

but cannot put a name 

to a blossom

we were not formally introduced

I am not a botanist 

nevertheless —

remote from nature

distant from its expression —

I too

am Gaia’s child