by Poseidon AKA Earth Shaker
I want to tell you about my friend and rival –
Earth Maker, ie worms.
It’s Be Kind to Worms Year
to stop the earth being spoiled
by large swathes of monoculture,
heavy machinery ploughing deep,
too much building covering the earth
compacting the dirt, impacting
the habitat of good bacteria
and worms
who exist to keep our soil
fertile and aereated for food.
I could go on at length,
but you get the idea:
BE KIND TO WORMS
long worms, wriggly worms
worms that go squish if you squeeze them,
but don’t make two new worms if you do.
I heart lumbricus terrestris.
Photograph:Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris).kids.britannica.com
If you want to know more about the damage we are doing to our soil, there is a very interesting article called Living Soil in Resurgence Magazine. This prose poem is number 6 in the Poseidon sequence, written for prompt 158 about slogans at We Write Poems
Vivinfrance's Blog 
It’s appropriate that the Earth Shaker would talk about the Earth Makers. His transformation is startling to watch.
-Nicole
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I love exploring worms with my grandson…I was always willing to get dirty when younger. So I respect bugs and most earthy little things.
Thanks too for your visit.
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I like the symbolism of something so small and ‘insignificant’ which enriches the earth beyond our knowing.
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Or as small as the bacteria which help decomposition of dead leaves etc etc are probably as important as worms in the fertility cycle.
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I like your poem, Viv. When we helped the youth and I was on the fishing team, most of my time was spent showing the kids how to put their hooks in the water and to bait the hooks. We were using your pictured earthworms for bait. To conserve worms, we would put about 1/3 worm on each hook.
BTW, the hooks all had the barbs removed so the the fish could easily be unhooked for quick return to the water.
Did you know that today is also World Turtle Day? Jaymi of TreeHugger looks at 11 Critically endangered turtle species: http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/11-critically-endangered-turtle-species.html
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I meant to close my comment with a question about your recovery from the OD of anti-coagulents. So, how are you doing now? My cardiologist once told Mrs. Jim when she questioned my necessity to eat with my meds and resultant gain of weight to “consider the alternative.”
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I saw my cardiologist yesterday and we had “words”, but he insisted that I must continue with ALL three anticoagulents: “It’s better to bleed a little (his words not mine, I nearly drowned) than block up my 4 stents!
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When rationing made life miserable for us in the 40′s and 50′s, I used to have to fish for food for our cat. I used shiny toffee papers as bait, and was very successful! Except when I fell in the river in my new school coat!
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In fact, become a refuse mulcher,
And go in for vermiculture! 🙂
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Nice rhyming response!
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Wow you managed to write an eco poem in your Poseidon poem series. Seriously delightful.
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I love it. So direct and succinct. I love to hold worms in my hand and feel their wriggle as they extend their surprisingly un-slimy bodies in search of the soil.
Thank you so much for you comments on the relationship of Allegro, Adagio, and Portamento as musical constructs. It really helped me to conceptualize a few missing pieces in my quatern series.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. My love of music is an important a part of my poetry as it is demonstrably yours!
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I love this poem, worms are seriously undervalued by so many, I always smile whenever I see a worm because I know that he is doing important work in my soil.
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