I sing the wildness of weeds and their flowers,
I sing, and my face breaks into smiles,
I sing the dandelions, the toadflax and the buddleia.
I revel in their colourful, scented exuberance;
As they rise up from the paved places,
As they erupt out of brick walls,
As they lean down from the roofs above me.
I sing of the courage, of the resilience of weeds.
I sing the power of the insects that plague us,
I sing, my face screwed up in protest,
I sing the midges, the wasps and the tsetse flies.
I marvel at their otherness from me;
How their bodies lift up on transparent wings,
How they undergo metamorphoses,
How they collectively survive the onslaught of poisons.
I sing of the courage, of the resilience of insects.
I sing our inclusion
In the retreats and advances,
In the intricate dances
Of life’s evolution.