Goddess
She is there in damp grasses,
the heavy swathes of them;
thick hair brushed from the earth’s plain face.
In the dewdrops that cling
to each broad, meaty blade,
fed by rain and the soil’s depth.
She sparkles in the dew;
the green fire and the red;
the sun caught in its rising,
seeded in droplets.
She is held in the mists of spiderweb,
knitted fine and slung across
secret tunnels through the roots.
Bend down, see.
As Goddess she is painted,
carved and moulded;
tall and swelling, sea-waves in her form.
The spreading and rolling land of her,
the clouding and raining and clearing sky.
Her true place is here,
among the small things;
the scurrying ones,
the spinners and weavers;
their legs as fine as cotton thread.
Liz Kendall works as a Shiatsu and massage practitioner and Tai Chi Qigong teacher. Her poetry has been published by Candlestick Press, The Hedgehog Poetry Press, Clarion, and Mslexia. Liz’s book Meet Us and Eat Us: Food plants from around the world is co-authored with an artist and ethnobotanist. It explores biodiversity through poetry, prose, and fine art photography. Her website is https://theedgeofthewoods.uk and she is on Facebook @rowansarered and Instagram @meetusandeatus.
Amethyst Review 