Mission creep

i watch from under my umbrella

the complexly bladed ferns dancing erratically in the rain

my feet and their forever war on stasis

the ruts reasserting themselves through fresh stone

i was only going for a walk and now

i’m pondering the obligations of ferns the prerogatives of feet

and the way a green tongue snakes through everything

as if wisdom grew on trees as if it were made of gray paper

a head-sized tumor emitting hornets

or the way rain beads on a jewelweed leaf

unable to find purchase on such a smooth skin

it rolls and gathers into the veins

microcosms in capsule form

my pace slows to a creep