A dandelion with its spinnaker
billowed out with seed,
has caught a gnat who came to rest
upon an ordinary weed.
An overburdened ant,
wrestling with his stiffened booty,
has put a blade of grass
between him and his bounden duty.
And just beyond, a twig of bark
which years from now will be an elm,
grows unobservant, unaware,
detached from things that overwhelm.
And now the gnat has freed itself,
by pushing out a spore,
the ant is extricated,
will soon be back for more.
The moment gone, the elm grows on,
knowing what it’s growing for.
1959