Suzi Mezei
Under the stones life writhes blind,
insistent, clung to damp
sedimentary hardness, scratching flat scabs
of earth. Woodlice ball resentful, oppose encroaching
light, earthworms sense our presence reject it,
press their eyeless heads inside crumbled ground,
ladybirds trickle like blood drops down crevices
leaving ravenous aphids thick on rose stems
their miniscule jaws buried deep in the art
of desecration, human fingers intrude, wreak havoc
upset the squirming status quo and the ants
bite back; hence we return the rocks
to terra firma, abandon all explorations, leave the bugs
to their underworld, allow them space
to remake their darkness.
Suzi Mezei is a Sri Lankan born Australian writer. She lives on Kulin land. Her work appears in anthologies and journals such as Hecate Journal, Aniko Press and Cordite and has been published overseas. She is the recipient of some writing awards. A recent vicious bout of covid has left her without a sense of smell or taste but strengthened her relationship with Netflix. Suzi is researching a novella and growing lettuce indoors.
Old Water Rat Publishing 