By Idris Mears

as with the carpet on the loom 

for the weaver and the fly that settles  

for the eternity of a moment on its weft 

with weeds it is a matter of perspective 

in my war to stop them colonising my garden 

i keep sight of their advance from the insubstantial 

whose roots hardly nibble at the crust of the soil  

but give cover to the pernicious spreaders and deep rooters 

and the tenacious treelings growing implacably in their own tree time 

against my will to impose order in my garden  

these terrorists are only freedom fighters reclaiming conquered land 

in the ebb and flow of the battleground 

both friend and foe advance in the same ranks and with the same tactics 

so my fellow garden tenders attend to small deeds