Bamboo

Korrine Key

It was purely accidental,

stumbling across those tall bamboo shoots–

like city towers

hanging off the side of

the sudden steep cliff

You’d fall–

had you not looked

at little bamboo

like grass

the sky like a streetlight

spilling through leaves

like open hands shielding

sun trickling between their fingers

hiding away this little piece of growth,

the forest’s treasure,

not quite like its mother–

tall and strong

ever sturdy

Concrete.

but a sprout,

spilling over the

rough cliffside dirt

carefully catching up

reaching through

thorn vines, and snail-ridden mushrooms,

through musky moss,

and wandering owl eyes

set on watching

green flourishing

from the forest floor.