The Melody of Mushrooms

Written by Jordan Nishkian

We’ve kept the fairy ring in the backyard alive
for the last nine years, feeding it
with circles of footfall
each equinox at dusk, so

spores trickle from their gills
planting offspring between near blades—
new stars in their cosmos,
new clouds in their nebulae—

mycelium spread strands
of hyphae into a nexus web,
poison pulsing into soil,
ready, waiting for us to dance.