‘Bindweed’ (from the forthcoming chapbook, Woodlot, published by Another New Calligraphy, Chicago)

Hedge –bindweed is often abundant in early old fields but is gone by 30 years post-abandonment. It is initially successful because t poisons other species which grow nearby, a characteristic allelopathy. However, the buid-up of the toxins in the soil eventually poisons Hedge-bindweed itself.

Eastern Forests Kricher J.C. and Morrison, Gordon Peterson Field Guides

Up in the upper

pasture now

crowded with alders

the rusted

old harrow

plaited tight

to the ground

by bindweed:

the landholder

now held

by the land

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