Transition Culture

An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent

Transition Culture has moved

I no longer blog on this site. You can now find me, my general blogs, and the work I am doing researching my forthcoming book on imagination, on my new blog.


8 Jun 2010

Matt Harvey on Slugs

Totnes legend poet Matt Harvey has just posted, as part of his occasional ‘mattmail’ email newsletter (which you can subscribe to on his website), a rather wonderful poem about slugs.  Matt is an old friend of Transition, and did the equally wonderful piece for BBC Devon about TTT a while ago.  Given that slugs are an oft-discussed subject here at Transition Culture, I thought you would enjoy this….  Matt is the Wimbledon Tennis Championships’ official ‘Poet-in-Residence’, so expect to hear more from Totnes’s favourite export in coming weeks. I love slugs being referred to as “bold-as-brass brassica editors”…

Slug

duel with a non-dualist


low-born land mollusc

high-impact intruder

free-loader, sprout-spoiler

meandering marauder

disrespecter

of my broad-beans’ border

you’ve a one-track mind

in a one-track body

diligent pillager

soft-horned invisigoth

slow silver scribbler

paradoxically busy sloth

you’re a tithe-taker, hole-maker

indiscriminate direct debitor

bold-as-brass brassica editor

you’re a squishetty spoilsport

a glistening drag

the liquorice all-sort

nobody wants to find in the bag

it’s time that you were brought to book

you’re not as tasty as you look

listen chum, you are disposable

look at my thumb, it is opposable

unwelcome invertebrate

this might just hurt a bit

I pluck you and chuck you

into distant dew-drenched greenery

isn’t that mean of me?

slug, when all is said and done

you can  hide but you can’t run

Categories: Food, Waste/Recycling

Comments are now closed on this site, please visit Rob Hopkins' blog at Transition Network to read new posts and take part in discussions.

8 Comments

nadia
8 Jun 10:15pm

he is genius!

Richard Lawson
8 Jun 10:41pm

Slug-chucker,
I mock your most practised fling
My slime just loves your thumb,
I land in the muck at your foot.

You have no choice but kill me.
And I will fill your lily livered,
liberal dreams
with guilt.

Tess Wilmot
8 Jun 11:20pm

mmmmmmm, thanks for reminding me, must go and check the runnerbeans that I planted today! Out with the torch, on with the wellies ….

Joanne Poyourow
9 Jun 2:37pm

This guy needs CHICKENS!

Ben Brangwyn
9 Jun 4:40pm

Or better still down in these parts, Khaki Campbell ducks

Guy
10 Jun 12:55pm

As I Slime in,
A true piscean,
One of Hermes legendary breed.

You admire me,
and like Obi Wan Kinobi
You Know you just cant kill me.

I abseil in to
your copper banded raised bed,
and mess with your head.

An alchemist of vegetation,
perrenial sentinal,
weeding out the weak hearted.

Exposing the cruel minded,
give thanks,speciest,
plant me your tender annuals.

marquise de nonce
10 Jun 9:00pm

i’d like to hear that sung aloud, possibly set to either “you’re a mean one, mr. grinch” or heart’s “sing child.”

Catherine Mergounis
24 Jun 9:35pm

slimetastic! those floral decimators die happy in our garden, they are rather partial to pale ale…