Ancient woodland

The humble bluebells are out in force
         in the ancient woodlands by Shooters Hill
along with primrose and lesser celandine
         wood anemone and yellow rattle and violets
and the delicate umbels of bear garlic

Underfoot the ground is soft
         from the covering of leaf litter
and as the sun rises a strong
         dank smell hangs in the air
amid the dense shadows

Hazel and beech and alder
         and oak laden with acorns
and here and there
         how the mighty have fallen
trunks decomposing
         the wood damp or dry as dust
covered in mould and fungi
         and lichen and overrun by ivy

Here is a hotbed of life and death
         teeming with centipede and spider
and all manner of creature
         each caught up in its own cycle
now feeding now nutrient
         but free – mercifully free –
from the arbitrary hand
         of human intervention

Here under the dense canopy
         each species has its origin
here all reach for the light
         here the very fittest survive
if only a little longer
         here all die and are reborn
here is a lesson for us all

John Lyons

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