A green shoot up and first root down, an unfolding germinal The shoot sheaves and the root filigrees, multiplying terminals Below earth, microbes make / a grudging way, or eager Above ground, light shines, both desiccator and feeder At surface, the bugs explore, some tenders and some weeders

From the east comes the breath of dawn, a xanthic glow, a waking From the south roasts the heat of noon, carotenoids burn, consuming From the west fall the twilight showers, cool aqua, an ending From the north draws the chill of Moon, viridian gleams, enduring Welling in the center the sprouts' own brawn, a white pith, a something

The beginnings of wheat, the beginnings of bread What Mother provides quickly outgrows our heads We cannot eat what we fully understand Some parts of our fates must stay out of our hands