Scarlet Elf-Cap

Last we passed we spied scarlet elf-caps

in this tidy copse amongst the ferns of winter

they bloomed blood bright, a glade cut splinter

sprouting neat from decaying elder limbs 

uniting acorn cups and Snow White's apple skins

those spellbound peelings freckling the forest floor

winking from the understory, perhaps numbering a score

blooming out from the brash crisp as the woodpecker's cry

secrets of Burgundy Chapel ruins so easy to wander by

Scarlet Elf-Cap by Christopher Jelley of Seven Fables

The ruins of Burgundy Chapel can be found near Minehead by following the wooded coast path, do seek them out if you are visiting Exmoor.

Wilderness Dreaming by Tamsin Abbott

Originally published in a Seven Fables newsletter March 2024 - subscribe here!