(Cheap?) Imitation

For writing group this week we wrote imitations of well-loved works. Here is Mary Oliver's poem," Mushrooms." Below is my copy.

"Mushrooms" by Mary Oliver

Rain, and then
the cool pursed
lips of the wind
draw them
out of the ground -
red and yellow skulls
pummeling upward
through leaves,
through grasses,
through sand; astonishing
in their suddenness,
their quietude,
their wetness, they appear
on fall mornings, some
balancing in the earth
on one hoof
packed with poison,
others billowing
chunkily, and delicious -
those who know
walk out to gather, choosing
the benign from flocks
of glitterers, sorcerers,
russulas,
panther caps,
shark-white death angels
in their town veils
looking innocent as sugar
but full of paralysis:
to eat
is to stagger down
fast as mushrooms themselves
when they are done being perfect
and overnight
slide back under the shining
fields of rain.


“Wildflowers” by Jenny Fried

Snow, and then
the warm diadem
embrace of the sun
trumpets them
up from the ground—
yellow and pink miens
beaming skyward
through soil,
through snow,
through grasses; captivating
in their starriness,
their glee,
their dewiness, they appear
in July’s meadows, some
balancing in the air
on a comet’s stem
cupping light,
others prostrating
effusively, and flimsy—
those who know
come to watch, seeing whole
the troupes of comedians, baroques,
glacier lilies,
devil’s paintbrush,
blooming sally
in her violet cloak
seeming desolate as Emily
but full of wantonness:
to pick one
is to draw the curtain
quick as wildflowers themselves
when they are done playing perfectly
and between two months
bow low and undress upon the patchy
fields of snow.