Except the passion for it; but it does guide occasions
To look at life in unfamiliar and uncharacteristic ways -
Useful for botanists who cannot see the wood for the trees.
Often I have seen my way out of the wood, only to be
Bogged down in my own assertions, the only hope of rescue
Then being the bending of an open ear and mind to the views
Of those I once disagreed with. But if the slough of despond
Should swallow me up, I shall keep my mouth shut.
3. Do I care if Sphagnum auriculatum is growing here?
Dear train-spotter, I am as concerned as you with establishing certainty:
It is the means to certainty that discovers the species Indifferens.
For somewhere - far from your branch lines and commuters -
Is a botanist looking for branch leaves, 1mm long,
Oval and pointed , shaped like an ear, who only knows the lens
As an instrument for wetting knees and bending backs in drizzle.
Being the antithesis of Dennis the Menace with his burning glass
May never be reward enough for the pain of contributing to truth,
But the pain of denying the truth that we possess, or know
That we could possess, is greater. Hiding one’s light
Under a bushel is not only denying the truth,
It is denying oneself - almost an act of self-destruction.
4. Would I be right in thinking that this is Sphagnum auriculatum?
So shall the asking lead a devotee to discover
Tiny ears on slender pointed curvaceous limbs,
Emerald flames that leap from peat-brown stems
And play over luxuriant tresses, two hand breadths long.
He or she may learn by this what the universe may mean,