https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/https://www.rawpixel.com/image/8755372
Pinus virginiana, microstrobilus, beltsville, md
The Minimal
I study the lives on a leaf: the little
Sleepers, numb nudgers in cold dimensions,
Beetles in caves, newts, stone-deaf fishes,
Lice tethered to long limp subterranean weeds,
Squirmers in bogs,
And bacterial creepers
Wriggling through wounds
Like elvers in ponds,
Their wan mouths kissing the warm sutures,
Cleaning and caressing,
Creeping and healing.
- Theodore Roethke. Original public domain image from Flickr
Public DomainFree CC0 image for Personal and Business use