passage of time
One of the poems in my new book within easy reach recalls a walk I took with my husband and our discovery of wild strawberries growing in profusion in a clearing in the forest.
~
~
~
Old Man’s Beard
~
Usnea subfloridana Stirt.
~
you and I
years ago
forced our ways
bent through the thicket
of lichen and spruce
~
Usnea
caught in your beard
and we laughed
absurd!
us with stooped backs
and grey hair?
~
found a game trail
a strawberry marsh
wild berries
crushed into sedge
stained shirts
lips
and fingers
strawberries
dusted with sugar
washed down with cold tea
warmed by rum
~
today
an old woman
alone
lost her way in the spruce
found beard
caught in the branches
and cried
~
~
Published as ‘Old Man’s Beard’, The Fiddlehead 180, Summer, 1994
Post also published at www.janetimsdotcom.wordpress.com
© Jane Tims 2016
Old Man’s Beard (Usnea) is a lichen found growing in coniferous woods. The common name comes from its matted, stringy appearance. Lichens are made up of two species, an alga and a fungus, living symbiotically.
nichepoetryandprose 
Dear Jane, I loved absolutely everything about this post. Your drawing, your poetry and your poignancy are delicious. Thank you for the treat.
Blessings ~ Wendy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wendy L. Macdonald
May 1, 2016 at 5:31 pm
Hi Wendy. Thanks! I appreciate the feedback! Jane
LikeLiked by 1 person
jane tims
May 1, 2016 at 9:45 pm
Great combination: drawing, verse, and photo. 1994, eh? That’s quite the long-term poetry career. I love the last stanza.
LikeLiked by 1 person
rogermoorepoet
April 25, 2016 at 11:07 am
Hi Roger. Thanks for your comments. Yes, 1994. It shows me that a writer’s agendas and goals must be very long term and work must go on for years, not days or months. No instant gratifications (well perhaps occasionally) and every effort counts. Jane
LikeLike
jane tims
April 26, 2016 at 10:09 am
What a lovely way to remember a nice day with your husband, with a poem. Loved the picture it conjured up in my mind… My grandfather gave me a wild strawberry plant many years ago, which I planted in my garden. The birds loved the little berries…
LikeLike
Barbara Rodgers
April 25, 2016 at 8:24 am
Wild strawberries are so sweet. I always love the description in L.M. Montgomery’s book ‘Blue Castle’. She says ‘they lifted them by the stalk and ate them from it, uncrushed and virgin, tasting each berry by itself with all its wild fragrance…’. Have you ever read Blue Castle?
LikeLike
jane tims
April 25, 2016 at 8:57 am