#77

Worms

till, grow, fertilize

architects of healthy soil

hail the king: earthworm

photo by Artit Oubkaew

The lowly earthworm is probably deserving of a longer poem than a haiku. Maybe I’ll pen “Ode to the Earthworm” someday.

If you haven’t read anything about earthworms before, I recommend this article in Science News Today. Or even if you think you know, go read it. Things like “earthworm pondering” help us appreciate some details in nature we might miss if we simply gaze into sunsets in the evening.

The article above wraps up with this, which I found poetic:

Earthworms will never grace the headlines of global summits or feature in Hollywood films. Their work is quiet, invisible, slow. But it is no less revolutionary. In the world of soil, they are giants—shapers of ecosystems, guardians of fertility, stewards of life. They ask for nothing but a place to dig, a leaf to eat, a patch of darkness. In return, they give us a living planet.

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Write an earthworm haiku. Or, if you can’t seem to muster that, write a haiku about some less-observed detail in nature that inspires. Share in the comments.

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