Orange Moss Agaric

(Rickenella fibula)


There are beautiful things that stand
         out on the deep green mosses 
they inhabit—They poke their heads 
         up like miniature umbrellas 
after rain, eager for another taste of 
         moonlight but wary of revealing 
too much of their hearts. It is no small 
         feat to live beneath notice of the sun 
with a desire you are always being told 
         exceeds your ability to contain.
But you cannot find it in you to tamp
         the orange flames which risk 
sending their voices above the damp  
         earth, their tiny messages in braille.