May 13*

     under, in the ground:

                    turgid roots and worming worms
                    swimming and swirling
                    in the slow damp current
                    of the depthless earth

     and above, exposed:

                    the tidal creep of blackberry
                    the surf of thimbleberry blossoms
                    the sharp spray of scotch broom
                    spitting droplets of rufus hummingbird
                                                                      far into the sky

*Copyright 2007 by Luther Allen. This poem appears in The View from Lummi Island. This poem, which was a 2007 Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest Walk Award winner, also appears in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years, with the title “under and above.” Placard design by Egress Studio.