photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin
Ode to Eriophorum Vaginatum
By Benjamin Shaw
Walking over Eriophorum,
Watch your step or you’ll fall off ‘em.
Hiking through the Arctic tundra,
Tussocks make me stop to wonder.
How does this sedge survive the snow,
The fire too and yet still grow?
The puff-ball stalks sway in the breeze
And look like real-life Truffula Trees.
Now, should I step upon the mound
Or simply try to go around?
The tundra’s boggy, low and wet
So that dry tuft could help me yet.
But one wrong move could cause a sprain
And aggravate my ankle pain.
A sedge encounter yesterday
Already has me in dismay.
Now if the Arctic grows too warm
The vegetation will transform.
No longer would these tussocks thrive.
Willows and birches would arrive.
And though I curse the path today
And know flat ground would ease my way,
I’d miss that plant if it did stray.
I hope E. Vag is here to stay.
I stumbled upon this in my search to learn how to grow this plant from seed! I love this ode!
Love it!