Janet Fisher
Ghazal
In an effort years ago to please my love,
remember how I learnt the lives of trees, my love?
The Lady of the Woods, the graceful Birch,
native of Lapland, doesn’t mind a freeze, my love.
In May the Hawthorn spreads its bloom like snow.
Its nibbled leaves we nicknamed ‘bread-and-cheese’, my love.
The coppiced Hazel can’t achieve full growth,
its yellow lambs-tails floating in the breeze, my love.
The ancient Oak’s sturdy trunk and limbs
made stout ships to fight in embattled seas, my love.
The Sycamore, though grand, ’s a garden weed,
spreading its DNA by floating keys, my love.
Bright-dressed Rowan guards our home. Its quick-
beamed branches ward off jealousies, my love.
‘A post of Yew outlasts a post of iron’.
Its deadly fruit and leaves make startling teas, my love.
You’re short on nature, dear, you don’t know half
what this poor woman’s done to try and seize your love.
Page(s) 29
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