Poem: "Where the Grass Is Greener"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This is the freebie for the January crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from fuzzyred. It also fills the "Path / Travel" square in my 12-23-21 card for the Story Sparks Fest.


"Where the Grass Is Greener"


On the high side of the hill,
the grass is short and yellow.

On the low side of the hill,
the grass is long and green.

The path winds around the hill
where the honey-wagon rolls by
on its way to the market, shedding
flecks of manure that blow down
the slope below the path.

The top of the hill is
flat and windy with
little growing there.

The base of the hill
goes down to the forest
where the long green grass
turns into berry canes and
bushes and tall trees.

Hike up the hill
and you will find
nothing but a view.

Wade down through
the deep green grass
and you will find
the blackberries
growing at the edge
of the forest below.

If you want to forage,
then always go looking
where the grass is greener.

Comments

[acelightning73]

"The grass is always greener over the cesspit."

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

This is 1) true because of the fertilizer, and 2) very useful to know if you have bought an old house in the country and have no idea where the damn thing is.

Re: Yes ...

[acelightning73]

#2 is how I learned the saying.

[adore]

There's something mystical about the edge of a forest. Hedgewitchery.

'Hike up the hill
and you will find
nothing but a view.'

made me giggle!

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Liminal spaces hold a lot of power. In ecology, they also have the highest species diversity.

Re: Yes ...

[acelightning73]

Of course! In between the forest and the fields, field mice can find a living. In between the forest and the field, squirrels can find a living. Then the foxes eat the squirrels and the wolves eat the mice...

[cmcmck]

I like this one!

In our case though, what a view!

This is the view from the top of the Wrekin- the hill under which we live.

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I like this one! <<

I'm glad you liked it.

>> In our case though, what a view! <<

That is a splendid view.

>> This is the view from the top of the Wrekin- the hill under which we live.<<

I've heard that name before:

On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble;
His forest fleece the Wrekin heaves;
The gale, it plies the saplings double,
And thick on Severn snow the leaves.

... same hill?

Re: Thank you!

[cmcmck]

The very same- Housman was a local writer.

Re: Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Yay! :D It's fun to put together pieces like that. The name was so unusual, and I remembered seeing it once before, I thought it might match up.

Diversity

[(Anonymous)]

Don't turn your face away from the odd places entirely.

It's true, the greatest harvests are found
in the rich moist shade.

But

There are plants only happy
on a well-drained hillside;

The wind spreads some seeds;
but only to where it can blow;

Secretly, some kinds hide deep under the tree roots;

Sometimes a burning forest fire
brings life you never saw before;

And some,
growing in the middle of the path,
want to be trampled.

Flavia(bv97045)

Re: Diversity

[(Anonymous)]

Like Disc mayweed

I always thought those felt kinda smug. Sort of "In any other place we'd be to small or bony to compete, but right here noone else can survive. Take that!"

Re: Diversity

[ysabetwordsmith]

That last line reminds me of running buffalo clover. It evolved to grow on disturbed land that had been trampled by bison or other large grazing herds. That wiped out the competition and allowed it to flourish. It's almost extinct now, but you can occasionally find it in places like logging roads.

Re: Diversity

[(Anonymous)]

Yup. Sounds a bit familiar.

The description for ideal ground for Disc Mayweed is *literally* "nutritionaly depleated, dry ground that has been packed down to hardness".

Flavia

Re: Diversity

[ysabetwordsmith]

What most people think of as "weeds" are really bandage plants. They're designed to seek out disturbed soil and cover it as quickly as possible so it doesn't erode. There are whole ecosystems specialized to take over after a fire, a flood, a landslide, and so on. That's their job.

Ironically, it reveals a branch of weed control that modern people don't seem to think of: kill it with kindness. A bag of compost and one of topsoil will make the earth too rich; a strip of healthy sod is impossible for many weeds to compete with.