Alpine Flower a Day: Common grass tree, inaka

Alpine Flower a Day: Day 23, Common grass tree, inaka (Dracophyllum rosmarinifolium)

– olive-orange spreading shrub with needle-leaves up to a metre, covered in tiny white flowers, each one about 3mm wide

– all over thousand-acre plateau in Kahurangi National Park

Joy

1.

the definition of joy is

hiking through thousand-acre plateau a thousand flowers on the grass-tree in full bloom a thousand-thousand insects flying up and you see them you see them

2.

where have all the insects gone?

3.

the definition of horror is

when a man quashes minorities democracy ecology and goes scot free goes scot free

4.

the numbers of insects are declining the numbers of protestors are the numbers of the

5.

it is unlikely he will be punished

6.

the sensation of joy cannot be distinguished in the brain from the sensation of horror

7.

you can watch this on the web while elsewhere on long lines of combed silk the sun shines extraordinary light

If you're interested in the inspiration behind this month-long series of 'An Alpine Flower A Day' about NZ alpine flowers and poems, you can find more in my first post: An Alpine Flower A Day Enjoy!