Small Thing

by Barbara Claridge

butterfly wing

trapped in dryspace

behind water

flowing through bamboo

to granite basin

moss covered and cool

i reach to touch

the fragment, weightless and flightless

imagine i’m different

tiny

and crawl beyond the fall of water

to a microworld with a robin soundtrack

i shrink

and crouch for a while

behind nandina leaves,

held in wildspace where,

as if from the back of a mirror,

i can watch

each frilled heuchera leaf

each placed pebble

brushed and weedless

i stretch back

through the silvered surface

wing in hand

brush the spider-like centre of herb robert

sense its astringency

unmistakable

and somehow i am different

can I show you?

Inspiration: I wrote my poem from my garden in France where I imagined an experience, but in real sensory surroundings which connected something small with something that made a difference to my mood and outlook.

Image by Ulrike Leone from Pixabay

Barbara Claridge is now retired but had a long career as a Hampshire Primary Headteacher, where outdoor learning was a passion. She did short-term voluntary work in Ghana and Namibia and with the British Council in Beijing and Pittsburg. In the UK, she is involved in voluntary community and environmental work and part of her year is now spent in Brittany gardening and watching. She recently completed an MA in Wild Writing, Landscape and Environment (University of Essex).