The Mushroom
Notice the little things... or you may go tumbling uncontrollably down a slippery slope.
We were walking through the woods one day,
My dear friend Sarah and me,
Enjoying the sounds of nature;
The babbling of a brook and rustling of leaves.
.
All of a sudden I saw something ahead,
Something smooth with a rounded top,
I dismissed it without further notice,
Thinking it wasn’t worth having to stop.
.
But Sarah didn’t see and stepped on it,
And it burst into a cloud of fumes.
Then she started hacking and crumpled down,
All because of that mushroom.
.
I took her to the doctor,
They said she would get well soon,
And yet I couldn’t help but think,
Would that have happened if I noticed that mushroom?
.
Once Sarah healed she went to the skate park,
I rushed to the store to get her balloons,
I arrived too late and she’d fallen on her skates,
Would that have happened if I noticed that mushroom?
.
Sarah and I went camping once she was better,
We’d found a cheap cabin room,
But in the middle of the night our little campfire had spread;
Would that have happened if I noticed that mushroom?
.
We put the fire out but were banned for life,
We were cast out of the camp into the night’s gloom,
Then from the woods we were chased by a pack of wolves,
Would that have happened if I noticed that mushroom?
.
Our wounds healed a little while later,
And I called Sarah to my house for some yoga in the afternoon,
But she twisted her ankle and sprained her wrist,
Would that have happened if I noticed that mushroom?
.
We decided to lay low for the next few weeks,
To avoid causing Sarah’s doom,
But a snake managed to find her and bit her on the arm;
Would that have happened if I noticed that mushroom?
.
I went to see her at the hospital,
But it turned out that was the last time I ever would,
She passed away from her wounds that night,
Why had I ignored that mushroom?
.
This was all my fault; I knew it.
…But maybe it was something else’s too.
That night, I formed a plan in my head.
It was time to eradicate those mushrooms.
.
In the morning I strode back to the woods,
Axe in hand and flames in my mind,
These mushrooms would all be gone soon…
…But my rage had turned me blind.
.
As I arrived I seethed-
The mushroom had multiplied.
No matter- I’d simply kill them all,
I’d burn them with the fire in my eyes.
.
As I swung my axe downward,
I quickly realized my mistake,
But there was no time to turn back;
It was simply too late.
.
A puff of black smoke wafted over me,
And I realized it wasn’t smoke, but spores,
Maybe none of this would have happened
If that mushroom hadn’t been ignored.
.
…My eyes became quite foggy…
…Over me the black cloud loomed…
…And still… I couldn’t help myself from thinking…
…Would this have happened if I noticed that mushroom?
About the Creator
Jessica Phoenix
I like to dig deep into things and find out their true meanings, and while I don't always succeed, it's exhilarating to try.
I write for challenges sometimes, but you'll also find me writing little stories for fun.
❤️Skating❤️
❤️Singing❤️
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Comments (1)
I noticed that you've added the Humor tag. But I didn't find this funny. I felt so sad because it felt like the protagonist was experiencing a downward spiral where they felt so guilty for everything and kept connecting it to the mushroom that they ignored. I'm so sorry that I didn't see it the way you intended me to 🥺