John Kaprelian

When the Bloodroot Blooms
 
when the bloodroot
blooms sneaking out of
the ground in early
spring its leaves
unroll into tiny
parasols that shade
the ground from the
radiance of its white
and yellow flower
a tiny sun a bit of
warmth and hope
against the still
brown and bare
forest floor



Microbiome
 
A herd of acarine bison graze
the edge of a pilose forest
Demodex peek from pores like prairie dogs
watching bacteria battle for
dominance over the moist valleys
and great plains of this undulating
terrain dotted with fungal copses
 
Deep below a vast and diverse
community lives mostly in harmony
performing tasks they evolved to do
over eons inside my ancestors
carrying on traditions building
artisanal proteins creating custom
scents adding their thoughts
to mine sharing my dreams sometimes
 
I wonder if I am a man or just
a ragtag assemblage of living parts
a colony a collection a village
with one voice one vision one set
of hands but so very many selves
interwoven independent yet inter-
dependent and aching for one another
 
I am We



Drains to Waterways
 
Walking the dog I
look down and see
on the storm sewer
grate a rusty fish
and the words “no dumping—”
drains to waterways"
 
suddenly the street
disappears and below me
I see a vast network
of subterranean streams
rivers aquifers waterfalls
all leading to the sea
 
Crimson salmon work
their way up the street
against the traffic flow
past shining shad
and transparent elvers
slither past soda cans
 
I nearly lose my balance
then quickly the earth
closes up and I am back
on solid ground. "No
dumping" I mutter.
The dog eyes me curiously.
 


Nature photographer, photo editor, and now a "Digital Asset Management Librarian", John Kaprielian brings his keen eye for natural history to his poems, which are often inspired by his observations. He has been writing poetry for 40 years, and studied creative writing at Cornell with the poet A.R. Ammons while getting his undergraduate degree. His work has been published in The Blue Nib, Poetry Quarterly, Riddled with Arrows, CP Quarterly, and many other journals, and he has a poetry collection available on Amazon. He lives in Putnam County, NY, with his wife and assorted pets.