Poetry
Black Rot of Crucifers and Juniper Woes
Black Rot of Crucifers
Black Rot of Crucifers, a blight brought upon the Cruciferae, this innocent race, their cross to bear. They present cross-shaped petals and leaves to ward off those who would attempt their crucifixion—crusaders out on a blind mission of destruction.
bacterial dilemma:
crux, crucis; a cross
ferre; to bear
crucible of fear
offensive crux
of rot
leaves
bearing
yellow vivisection
become brown
disease expands
eventual leaf
and central nervous system
collapse
pathogens enter
and spread
their disease
Juniper Woes
Juniper Woes, believed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to be brought on by winter injury, leads to the loss of untold numbers of evergreens and shrubs. Although usually resulting from the interaction of low temperatures, frequent freeze / thaw cycles, rapid cooling and thawing rates, this is only a spur to the downward mental spiral.
Trees often recover provided new buds aren't damaged, thus causing further trauma.
Note: While many brown trees may be attributed to winter injury, be careful not to lump every brown evergreen into the winter injury group.
winter injury
working to cool your insides
crystals ice
cracking pitch
permeating
your ever present
greenery
(if possible)
oozing
pitch
pining
old green browning
as new growth
greens
Contributor
Susan SwensonSusan Swenson is a writer/poet living in Brooklyn. She is also editor/publisher of Pierogi Press.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES

The Institute of Queer Ecology: Metamorphosis
By Alex A. JonesSEPT 2020 | ArtSeen
The four-episode series resembles an educational nature show, with essays spoken over digital animation and found footage, narrated by nonbinary artists Mykki Blanco and Danny Orlowski. As its name implies, Metamorphosis takes multiple forms as an artistic project.
The Feminist Institute
By John CarvalhoMAR 2019 | Critics Page
I met Kathleen Landy (then Finley) many years ago when she was an undergraduate student and I was a visiting assistant professor at Villanova University.
The Numbers Must Have Context
By Natalie BakerMAY 2020 | Field Notes
Viruses do not know logic other than replication. But they are deeply attracted to distinct patterns of human behavior.

Welcome to the Feminist Institute’s Guest Critic Edition of the Brooklyn Rail
By Kathleen LandyMAR 2019 | Editor's Message
Women have shared their wisdom with one another for millennia, in oral histories that teach and inform subsequent generations of women about family, home, sex, power, politics, and survival. But patriarchal histories didn’t include these contributions. Huh!