Mushrooms emerging
From saturated ground
Mist bearing shoots
Scatter faintly
Among tree roots
Chirping echoes above
As other nests
Are feathered
Crocus peaks out
Through remaining
Scattered icy traces
Chrysalis spinning
On softly greening limbs
Cloudy dreams forming
May soon come true
Chartreuse froglets
Multiply high and low
Curious young things
Explore bright colors
Lured by scents
Returning from deep
Within the Earth
But straying far
Extracts a high price
Beware destroying angels
Bewitching mimics
Fool the untrained eye
Sampling newly emerged
Saprophytes which
Seem like treats
Yield a death cap
Toxic though tempting
Such smell and taste
Transports its victim
To another realm
Never to return
Maria DePaul is a Washington, DC-based writer whose poetry, prose and reviews have been pushed extensively in print and online, most recently in Haikuniverse, Haiku Journal, Poetry Quarterly and Three Line Poetry.
Cover: Amanda Bergloff
Twitter @AmandaBergloff
Instagram: amandabergloff