Society Poem – The Meadow’s Keeper

Society Poem – The Meadow’s Keeper

The Meadow’s Keeper is a society poem, a reflection on people and a celebration of all the stunning names given to officially declared noxious weeds.

The Meadow’s Keeper

 At odds weeds / officially declared noxious /
but free to thrive 
knit the sun and rain-spoiled soil,
one thousand shades of green with splashes of 
white, yellow, orange,
red, purple, blue.

Alligator Weed beside Bear-skin Fescue, 
Bathurst-burr next to Nodding Thistle
Onion Grass alongside Hawkweed
Japanese Knotweed tickling Paterson's Curse
Poverty Weed neighbouring Ragwort
Wheel Cactus cosying up to Fireweed.

The Meadow's Keeper / officially proud /
but free to eradicate
tends tenderly,
minds / alongside
one thousand bugs, worms, creepy crawlies
insects, rodents, birds crowning

Horehound and Giraffe Thorn
Pampus Lily-of-the-Valley and Chilean Cestrum
Bridal Creeper and Prickly Pear
Devil's Claw and St. John's Wort
Bindweed and Hardheads
Sweet Briar and Soldier Thistle.

Weeding weeds / officially an option /
but out of the Meadow Keeper's imaginings
would eradicate, 
uproot
one thousand drops of eccentricity, colour, beauty, 
breath, life, love.

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17 Replies on “Society Poem – The Meadow’s Keeper

  1. I love this so much. The way you drew parallels between the idea of weeding in a garden, missing the beauty of those “unwanted plants”, and how that relates to our interactions with each other as people and a society is really powerful.

  2. This poem has such a deep meaning. I interpreted it as practicing acceptance, kindness and embracing diversity. All of us are beautiful in our own ways!

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