We thought the planting of it
would enhance our patio garden,
but its stems hardened.
Now after four years
it has obscured the view
from the bedroom window.
We have considered pulling it up
by its roots,
hacking its new shoots with secateurs,
but to do so
would have proved premature.
Besides,
there was no wheelbarrow
big enough to shift it.
But now the sparrows have arrived.
Watching their demure pecking
of the yellowing leaves
has become a meditation.
Perhaps if it wasn’t for this virus
coming to slow the world’s beat,
we wouldn’t have noticed it.
The ramshackle nest
at the bamboo’s heart.
Inspiration: During lockdown I passed the time by staring out of the window in the back bedroom of our house in Chelsea Road. Settling my mind on the bamboo plant, which had grown to eye level, and all the goings on within it, enabled me to capture the poem.
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Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay.
