Ode to Dirt

poem

Mushrooms, Joan Redmond, Art Institute of Chicago, 1978

---

Ode to Dirt

You have returned
to who you were

before the after.
You’ve climbed

down from
the barren

rafters
& rediscovered

the little bit
of wisdom

that comes
with plenty

of laughter.
It turns out

the answers
aren’t on

the roof
of the world.

The healing
happens

in the cellar.
Down there

with the roots,
cans & jars

of vegetables
& fruits.

Who knew
that doom

can only be
prayed away

among
the onions,

squash,
& mushrooms?

You don’t need
to crawl

in this crawl space.
You can stand

& praise 
the vault

of seed
& salt

that has been
preserved for you.