Row by Row the Nettles Grow
Row by row the nettles grow
And circles do surround
Hairy stems the prison wires
And jagged leaves their barbs.
Cry out, forsaken sinner
Your voice shall not be heard
We listen to the wind song
And hark its piercing sound.
Your poison nettle vapours
Cling to my moistened lungs
And acrid nettle juices
Drip from my swollen mouth.
Alone, now in death—
Eden’s angel looms
Sword aflame in hand
To keep you on your own.
Cry out your purgatory
Futile ring your pleas
You beg to rise at morning
To crawl out from your tomb
Longing for light of day
Immobile in that room
That blade your only sun
And guardian your god.
Cry out, cry out
You nettle-captured fiend
Cry out for life
For banished liberty.
Cry out, cry out, vanquished foe
Your lies now hold no weight
I from serpent’s lips released
For it is finished, so He said.
Copyright © Alice Reynolds | Year Posted 2025
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