Have you heard of the soil that rots?
A land of wither, a land of decay,
A land where you’ll find no creature trots
Save for the foolish ones led astray
Have you heard of the soil that rots
In the barren field by the edge of town?
It leaves the living with dark, nasty spots
Oh, it could and it surely would bring you down
And it’s hopeless, it’s hopeless to plant any seed
All sprouts will die ‘fore they get to crack out
So don’t dare approach it, I plead, oh I plead
Because once you touch it, it’s too late to back out
Oh pity, oh pity the misguided souls
Who found these wretched soils on their way
For they had accrued the most handsome of tolls
One which only vitality could pay
And, for those born there, one can say
Their health and sanity has slipped through the cracks
They felt their very lives drain away
And soon had their corpses piled up in stacks
Oh, it’s a hopeless game, it’s a hopeless life
To be born in such a treacherous place
A place where death and decay are rife
Where you stare at disease right in its face
Have you heard of the soil that rots?
Such a sad, sterile, sickly soil
Where you’ll find no barns or fields in plots
Where all life that goes is doomed to spoil
Zayn Daureeawoo is a queer, POC undergraduate student at Carleton University studying in the Journalism and Humanities program. From a very young age, Zayn has had a passion for creative writing, especially in poetry. Poetry has been especially important in Zayn’s life as a creative outlet to channel their emotions into something greater than themselves. He hopes that sharing his poetry will speak to, resonate with, and ultimately inspire others in one way or another.
