Battle lines *

Barely a breath of breeze
flutters the few remaining leaves
on the dear ravaged birch

Voracious, rapacious, spiny monsters
targeted tender tasty growth
each day a fresh wave of invaders

Don my armour
assemble my arsenal
battles lines drawn

Lose count of casualties
first-hand learning
in a war of attrition

Evidence that violent conflict
creates collateral damage
including combatant devastation

Romantic notions of bucolic nature
destroyed by harsh reality
eat and be eaten

© Carol Good

* inspired by LDD infestation of 2021