Dianne Kellogg
Monotropa Uniflora

Monotropa Uniflora:
Ghost Pipes, Indian Pipes, Corpse Plant
pale, wax museum flower
sequestered in the deep Beech forests
of three continents, rare.
Step softly
on the leaf litter, humus, moss
translucent stems won’t bend.
Found with mystical Druid stock,
relies on the ruminations of Russulaceae,
mushroom cud, that nestles without
light or air
parasite on parasite,
three generations,
two manifestations
emanations from a buried
Beech tree root.
Tread softly
ghosts tolerate temporal creatures
parasitic or fruitful
but barely.

Dianne Kellogg, Ghost Pipes, digital image, 2018