Pondering Pleurotus

Blooming bold with golden aura

Brilliant beings of intricacy

Prolific in their provisions

Expressing resilient plasticity

Threads entwining, ever-weaving

Niche builders of diversity

breaking down the world around them

ceaselessly rendering complexity

Food, medicine, ecological tenders

Catalyzing the recycling of Earth

Working deep in the shadows of soil and wood

In the cycles of death and rebirth

And when the conditions are right

Bursting forth into the light

Wonderous displays of the weird and wild

Occupying the forest overnight

The folds of supple flesh

Holding sacred capsules of creation

Bound in cradles of chitin

For the next eager generations

Releasing with enthusiastic ease

Sending as whispers upon the wind

Carried to a soft, moist Earth

Where new story can begin