Kudzu in Clarke County

conquers old Fords,
shacks, unwary pines,

sinewy tendrils
push leaves

green as
a lover’s darkest thoughts,

snaring us with
twirls and purple blooms,

till December’s
rigid air,

sweeps her to a bed
of rusty clay.

Gary D. Grossman
Night Roses 15: 4, 1997