“Entwined”

were I to wander Dartmoor’s winter cleaves
such rime I fear is wreathed about with ghosts
in search of comfort midst the fallen leaves

then stay my step awhile, look up, come close
as nature’s rhythm works its ancient rites
to many-varied moss plays oak the host

to lichens, ferns and rambling epiphytes
an I to past and present owe a debt
among them none appear as parasites

for sunlight powers lichen’s sweet duet
then I must find my own melodic slant
moss feeds on dust and rain its leaves collect

and pays its dues in crooks of lofty branch
while I on giants’ shoulders foot my dance

Clare Bryden “Entwined”, Dawntreader, Indigo Dreams Publishing, Issue 69, Winter 2024/25.

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”
– Isaac Newton in a letter to Robert Hooke, 1675