"Mushrooms," by Sylvia Plath

Author: Sylvia Plah

1 Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly

2 Our toes, our noses
Take hold on the loam,
Acquire the air.

3 Nobody sees us,
Stops us, betrays us;
The small grains make room.

4 Soft fists insist on
Heaving the needles,
The leafy bedding,

5 Even the paving.
Our hammers, our rams,
Earless and eyeless,

6 Perfectly voiceless,
Widen the crannies,
Shoulder through holes. We

7 Diet on water,
On crumbs of shadow,
Bland-mannered, asking

8 Little or nothing.
So many of us!
So many of us!

9 We are shelves, we are
Tables, we are meek,
We are edible,

10 Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves.
Our kind multiplies:

11 We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot's in the door.

DMU Timestamp: March 07, 2019 02:52