PROMPT: AN OBJECT IN MY HOME ONLY I KNOW THE TRUE STORY OF

Topiary

Do not attempt to shape me according to your vision.

My unruly wreath. Photo by poet

Ivy was also a symbol of intellectual achievement in ancient Rome and wreaths were used to crown winners of poetry contests. Wreaths were also given to winning athletes in ancient Greece. The Woodland Trust

A tanka-haiku-free verse series

An unruly wreath
in a pot on a table –
shoots escaping wire
Fairy lights, strobes of support
Secateurs, felled prison guards

Some warn I’m unwise
Ivy indoors courts trouble
I accept the risk

Ivy is scripture
Every leaf — sage, a graced page
Veins read like tea leaves
What route will her tendrils take?
What attachments will she make?

When
will Ivy and I agree
it is time
to release her compacted roots
from clay’s stranglehold?