Fern Frenzy

I hear fiddlehead

tunes unfurl and play

for the lady nestled

in bleeding hearts

while licorice adorns

large leaf maple

and sword clashes

with stinging nettle

for the maiden’s

delicate hand.

One rivulet murmurs

condolences to the common

cottonwood sapling bent

from January’s freezing rain

deer, dear and hart’s tongue

drape and drink beneath

the bulging branch

of a grand old white oak-

a swan’s neck curve

across my path-

years of storm survival

offer a graceful arch

for me to travel over

or under, my choice,

with the reminder

that I do not have to grow

straight and tall and thin

to be magnificent.