Sunday 22 July 2012

Vermicomposting Song

Lyrics and music by Marion Parsons © 1999

An autobiographical love song.



Oh, Ottawa's not that big, but it's big enough to seem

You have to go out of your way to find a patch of green

One floor off the ground may as well be top of a tower

And the balcony's already full of those parasites called flowers

But that's OK, I've got the antidote to urban woes

In a nest I made from plastic, cardboard, duct tape, and pantyhose

Right there in my closet is the food chain's prima donna

This Earth would be a dump if not for soil mesofauna

    I've got momma worms and grandpa worms and little vermicelli
    Red and pink and white with a coat of slimy jelly
    They're beautiful and shy and they're a lovely earthy-smelly
    And each turns guck to gold in its long transforming belly.



Oh, I used to have a cat who wouldn't deign to share my food

But my wormies think that everything I offer them is good

Piles of rotting veggie scraps, soggy, sour, and fungal

Squash guts that sprout into a weird chlorotic jungle

Burnt rice and apple bruises, skin of sweet potato

I keep an eye on the pH and carbon:nitrogen ratio

My roommate adds the coffee grounds, my sister sends the eggshells

The newspapers I rip to shreds each Sunday during X-Files

    For my momma worms....



Oh, every worm is female and all the worms are males

Direct light makes them flail their heads or possibly their tails

I used to hunt for them with gloves, but now I bare my hands

To feel the subtle slither of those soft translucent strands

At first glance all you see is dirt and clumps of rotting stuff

Look close and you'll see life and death and frequent fruit fly love
There's a touchy-feeling thrill to helping move the circle round

So the ground can feed my table and my table feed the ground.

    With my momma worms...

1 comment:

  1. that song is awesome i hope you post more songs

    ReplyDelete