Feel free to walk any woodland path
Until you see tell-tale rounded cap
Never sure what specifics will be:
Gilled, shelved, clung, lurking; short, tall, or wee.
Indispensible kingdom cousins.
Many times shy, they hide their planetary-matted panorama;
Not brutes like fauna nor flashy like flora, fruits their brave flower.
Quietly they act as finisher; then begins’ ways they pave.
Their mycelium network’s faster than any signals from radio,
networked unicellular mats’ tree-talk will amaze you:
chemical impulses as flags to feed, protect, repel as mother.
Faunal arrogance alone barriers egalitarian inclusion belief,
fixed that our unassuming kin are unworthy of appreciative consider.
Like the cap on the lens of a camera, let us unveil umbicili,
effect reconciliation with workhorse roots of our world family tree.
Difficult to dispute that without them, Earth would be barren;
yet, our hobbled modern brains register but pretty killers and food.
Let’s seek ancestor guidance and become receptive to old/new paths.
I saw phenomenal zoom lecture a few months ago through the Irish Botanical Gardens on fungi and learned a lot. Last night I watched this netflix documentary and am further informed and inspired:
As an Acrostic Plus poem, the message is revealed by reading the first letter of each line of the first stanza and the last letter of each line of the second stanza.
Lillian is today’s host for dVerse’ Poetics. Lillian says:
I challenge you to either write a poem that in some way relates to a puzzle you’ve been faced with, or includes the word “puzzle”; or try your hand at an Acrostic; or extra points if you write an Acrostic Plus!
Tao Talk 
Fungi are amazing, and we are getting close to the season to pick the mushrooms coming from the amazing fungi underneath. I hope it will be a good year this year.
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Yes they are and now that some have looked beyond the veil we will reap the benefits. There are very few mushrooms I recognize well enough to pick to eat. I wish I knew more.
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I have watched that in Netflix too – amazing show. I would love to pick them up and see their planetary-matted panorama.
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🙂 So would I!
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Wonderful in descriptive words!
And yes they are! 😊
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Thank you, Lillian 🙂
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Well done!
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Thank you, Paula 🙂
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God knows we need all the friends we can get. Your message could be blazoned on a sweatshirt. I’m still wrestling with “faunal arrogance alone barriers egalitarian inclusion belief”.
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LOL Animal kingdom (i.e. humans!) think they rule all which prevents them from considering the belief that the fungi stand beside us as equal kin. Sorry for the verbosity.
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I love the message you’ve hidden in this acrostic and also the reverence with which you pay the amazing natural form of fungi. My favourite lines:
“Many times shy, they hide their planetary-matted panorama”
“Quietly they act as finisher; then begins’ ways they pave.”
“Like the cap on the lens of a camera, let us unveil umbicili.”
🙂
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Sunra, I’m very happy you appreciate fungi and my plea for them. Thank you.
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You are most welcome ☀️
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Amazing lines specially with the fungi’s powers:
Their mycelium network’s faster than any signals from radio,
networked unicellular mats’ tree-talk will amaze you:
chemical impulses as flags to feed, protect, repel as mother.
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Thank you, Grace. The poem was a labor of love.
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This is absolutely epic in its execution, Lisa! Woww! I especially love; “Like the cap on the lens of a camera, let us unveil umbicili,”💝💝
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Thank you very much, Sanaa, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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a very wise message illustrating the beauty and ability of fungi as our friends! That pic looks more like a collection of cut gemstones than a pallet of fungi feast.
Really appreciate the education factor you’ve skillfully woven into this lovely poem
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Kate, thank you. I chose the turkeytail fungi image as in the doc, the guy who is “Mr. Mushroom” (Paul Stamets) talked about how they helped his mom get through cancer treatment. Then he brought her up on stage. She is now 102 years old. (probably older now, I think the video is a couple of years old.)
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that is impressive … I can’t go a day without some mushroom in my diet. Will watch that video when I have time, thanks
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Very fabulous that you have daily mushrooms. I have them quite often also.
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fresh milk and mushrooms are a daily staple, even in lockdown I’m managing to get them
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Fungi are our friends! Indeed. Great poem Li
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Thank you, Sadje!
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You’re welcome my friend
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Amazing photo and fungi facts here, Lisa…it all points to a great Designer!
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I can’t disagree, Lynn!
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That photo is so mesmerising and who could have thought that fungi would inspire such a beautiful, wise message. Skillful writing, Li, for our friends. 🙂
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Thank you very much, Punam 🙂 ❤
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You are very welcome. ❤️
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Cool. I didn’t know Turkey Tails grew in blue like that. Saw the Netflix documentary, and also found it interesting as well.
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Thanks for reading and your comment. You may or may not know this, and they didn’t cover it in the doc, the the mycellium is made of chitin, which is the same substance that makes up the exoskeleton of insects.
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Gorgeous art / an educational acrostic … friends indeed!
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Glad you liked the image and the acrostic, Helen. Thank you 🙂
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The featured photo almost looks like a beautiful Agate rock. Beautiful!
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So glad you like it, Kathleen 🙂
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An ode to friendly fungi! Perfect!
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Thanks, Beverly!
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Certainly, they are friends, Jade! One can never think it provides nutritious and tasty food given its beginnings!
Hank
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Thanks for reading and your comment, Hank.
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A real homage to fungi 😊. Love it. (I’m always too scared to pick wild mushrooms in case I poison us all!)
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There are only a couple I know well enough to pick: coral, morel, and puffball.
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i believe fungi is blushing with this beautiful ode for them! have to give kudos to the second stanza – filled with interesting facts and also with that adorable reminder. so good!
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Thank you very much, Ms. Rosema!
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This is great. And well done acrostic plus.
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Thank you, Ken. Older son and I took a walk out at one of the state parks yesterday and my eyes were trained on the fungi. So many various ones just in that short walk. There were a zillion puffballs out there I would have picked if I would have had something to carry them in. We also saw a team of beetles working to carry a mouse carcass (sp?) away. Didn’t bring the phone but should have had son take a video of it.
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beautiful picture words and lovely video! 💖💖
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Thank you, Cindy!
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You’re most welcome Lisa! 💕
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That documentary looks awesome…I love the graphics…everything is really alive.
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Yes, they do an outstanding job on the graphics. The main narrator is someone I would love to take a walk through the woods with!
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It’s a vision full of life.
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Thanks for sharing that video…it was awesome
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You’re very welcome.
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How nice.
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Thank you.
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an oldie but a goodie! I loved your poem Li! 🙂
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