Poem: Discovery

By Nicholas Battey on August 22, 2025 Poetry

Discovery

Discovery are coloured dark deep red.
I heard one falling as I brushed the tree —
a startled bird troubling bushy leaves —
but with more plummet, accelerated

power, crimson sinker parting waves of green,
descending progeny, seeds sheathed in a cream
flesh, webs of genes cradling what could be,
bound for the food waste bin, sequence

on sequence of supercoiled code unread.
But another journey took place instead
ascent through sound, to ears, into words
as you can almost taste that zingy first
apple of the season, sharp on your tongue,
sweet on your lips, parted and showing crimson.

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About Author

Nicholas Battey

Nicholas Battey is retired and lives and gardens in West Devon. He was previously Professor of Plant Development at the University of Reading where he wrote research papers, co-edited and contributed to the popular science books 30 Second Biology and 30 Second Evolution, and co-wrote the textbook Biological Diversity: Exploiters and Exploited. He self-published a collection of his poems in 2020 and his music can be found on his website.