thistles underfoot
spiked leaves stir thoughts of sharp minds
wise people buried here
herb foragers, healers
thorn plant whisperers

©2017 Ontheland

~
This tanka is from musings that sometimes come up as I see thorn leaf rosettes and full grown thistles in the field around my house. It hints at and was inspired by Carpe Diem #1300–The Rose, another episode in Carpe Diem’s Rubaiyat, AnotherWay series. The featured quatrain from The Rubaiyat:

I sometimes think that never blows so red
The Rose as where some buried Caesar bled;
That every Hyacinth the Garden wears
Dropt in its Lap from some once lovely Head.

© Omar Khayyam (Tr. FitzGerald)

The thistle photo is from Pixabay.