A Boy Moose Ate My Tulips by Erynne DeVore

A Boy Moose Ate My Tulips by Erynne DeVore

Author: Maggie Devers November 19, 2025 Duration: 3:37

A Boy Moose Ate My Tulips

Erynne DeVore

i discovered marbles and obsidian buried in my garden next to the worms
after a moose ate my tulips

“of course it was a boy moose,” someone joked with me
i tried not to wake my daughters scaring him away
they woke anyways
irony is never lost on poets
my daughters
have ears and eyes and hearts of their own
they would’ve seen the evidence in the morning

those tulips were a gift from Mother Earth
meant for my pleasure, the flowers
that came to me in a dream
after i turned my back on the house
meant to turn us
from innocent and sweet
to Victors
sometimes i still dream about eating strawberries during a time i could pretend
Alaskan fruit has a taste

the tulips were a gift and i blamed nature
for taking them from me
“the lord giveth and the lord taketh away”
scripture gets just enough right
we could forget to dig deeper

the moose was just doing what moose do and
had he not
consumed what i perceived as mine
would i have let the feathers guide me
to God

a boy moose ate my tulips and i was pissed
as if Divine gifts are mine alone
as if i could expect him to be anything
other than who and what he is
as if God didn’t want me
elbow deep in dirt
listening to Their question:
what do you want to plant?!
girl, CAN YOU HEAR ME?
put your face to the earth
feel me and ask yourself
if just anything pretty deserves to be buried deep inside your home’s fertile ground?

the tulips, god
they were beautiful
and they picked me but the moose
in all of his immature adolescent volatile and majestic nature
freed me
from my attachment to pretty things
that just so happen to be there

the moose released me from all that tied me
to roots that were never mine to begin with
freed me to get dirt under my nails and
discover buried treasure
to weed the roots
that would no longer strangle all
i was planting

i prayed to co-create
which means
getting my hands dirty 

More from Erynne DeVore ↓


Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO


Each day, One Poem Only offers a brief, deliberate pause. Hosted by Maggie Devers, this podcast is built on a simple, consistent premise: a single poem, read aloud, without analysis or introduction. It’s an audio space where the words themselves are the event, a performance meant to be absorbed in the few minutes it takes to hear it. The daily rhythm of the show creates a quiet ritual, a point of reflection woven into a busy life. You might hear a classic sonnet, a piece of modern free verse, or a work from a poet you’ve never encountered. The selection is varied, touching on themes from the natural world to the intricacies of human emotion, always leaving room for your own interpretation. The effect is cumulative; listening regularly becomes a subtle form of education in the sound and scope of poetry, and a small act of self-care. This isn't a lecture or a book club, but a performing art delivered directly to your ears. Maggie’s clear, thoughtful readings provide the only framework needed, allowing each poem to stand entirely on its own. The curtain falls, and the moment passes, but the podcast invites you to return tomorrow when a new piece takes center stage, offering another quiet moment, one poem only.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 355

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