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