Aesculus hippocastanum

The chestnut trees with stalks of flowers white,
In the spring of Yarrow and Sagradovka's
Utopian days before the Diasporas
Catechized the villages non-Mennonite,

Shade the burial grounds and churches,
And edging into fall, bear the fruits
Bitter with dystopias' sad attributes
Stormy gales hurl down from looming branches.

Horse-chestnut trees' brown conkers
Meek deer in forests find edible.
Their survival seems quite credible,
When the Prince of Peace us conquers.

Perfect seeds in autumn's earth ensure
The cycles' revelations will endure.

Podcast: Horse Chestnuts

© Elmer Wiens