There’s a swamp here
A clustered, stagnant, slimy swamp
With muck at the bottom
And reeds toiling through brown, smelly water

And the creek that feeds it is crystal
And the sky above it is blue
And the birds in the air
Often come here to roost
In the the cluster, the fluster, the goo

And somewhere is a lake with round shiny pebbles
And somewhere is a beach full of sand
And somehwere is a river that rings out in trebles
Singing its way through the land

And I stare at the nettle weeds
The algaes, the skippers
The insects that frenzy
The tadpoles and grippers
That slip in and out of the slime

And see the creek’s clearer
The river’s sublime
The lake is a mirror
And the beach is divine

But the swamp, with its festers and nesters is rife

The swamp, with its creatures
Its breedings
Is Life