A Morning's Walk

Leaping was my glance from a plant to a shrub,

That lay alongside the path on my morning’s walk.

Stunned was I,

By the eerie manifestation of my once lovely plants,

And the prayers that I was mumbling came to an abrupt halt.

Gone were the eloquent serrated margins of my leaves,

Scrapped were the greenish chlorophyll stratum,

Nibbled were the succulent lamina,

Crinkled, curled and twisted were they to varying indentations.

Blemished were the rosy petals,

Flapping were the butterflies then and there,

In dire quest of the juicy nectar in store,

And diluted were the aromatic and pristine fragrances in its course.

Fighting hard were some of the leaves against its voracious foe,

Striving not to give way under the heavy deposits of faecal matter.

Drooped were the upright shoots in gloom,

Lesion-borne were the lichen-blotched twigs and stems.

Sheathed were the stems and leaf axils with white mealy congregation.

Seized were their impeccable bloom,

Skeletonized were their elegant framework.

Faded were their iridescent hue.

Webbed were the leaves into requisite dwellings,

And rested were the nests amid strangled twigs.

Did the creatures responsible know?

That the photosynthetic efficiency is deemed to be curtailed?

That they are stinging poison into the hand that fed them?

Glimpse of my sick leaves...

And how are my juvenile buds supposed to peep through those intricate webs?

Excavated was several lines of mine over my lush leaves,

Who issued the authorization to those miners?

Dwelling in and eating away my lovely plant is one thing,

Yet the uncontrolled excrement is another thing to be annoyed of.

Yet a few bold ones endeavored to wait in dire anticipation,

A rescue operation from anyone they would undergo,

That ought to be timely but effective.

To let the last bunch of leaves to flourish,

To let the last immature bud to unfurl its bloom,

I opted to be their savior for the day,

And for the rest of their life if need be.

 

The exquisite blooms.