Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Poem: In the Garden of Ouroboros

This is the free poem for the June 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was prompted by puffbird and also somewhat inspired by the symbolism of the snake swallowing its tail.


In the Garden of Ouroboros


The plants inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen.
The animals inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.

The leaves fall and become compost.
The compost collapses into itself and feeds new leaves.

The rain falls to form puddles.
The puddles evaporate to form rain.

Leaves are eaten by worms that are eaten by centipedes
That are eaten by voles that are eaten by owls
That die and become food for the worms again.

These are the cycles in which the world was made,
Circles and spirals eternally flowing, head swallowing tail
In an endless process of life, death, and transformation.
Everything is curved and recursive; nothing is linear.

In the garden of Ouroboros, nothing is wasted.
Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, nature, poem, poetry, reading, writing
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  • 2 comments

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ysabetwordsmith

Thank you!

ysabetwordsmith

June 9 2009, 22:28:50 UTC 12 years ago

I'm glad you like this.
ellenmillion

ellenmillion

June 9 2009, 22:42:47 UTC 12 years ago

I quite like this. My only quibble is that the fourth stanza isn't as symmetrical as the others, and also starts with the same leaves the second does. (But what I know about poetry fits in a thimble, so take with a grain of salt!)