Bright Trouble
‘Winter blooming of hundreds of plants in UK “visible signal” of climate breakdown’ - Guardian, January 2026
January breaks – disorderly daisies
quit the wall, won’t stay seated,
& dandelions flare: spinning suns,
casting spots, horizonless; never setting.
All appetite & restlessness, fleabane
strobes along the path, & white dead
-nettle, too – lips cold but shouting,
shouting how warmth took the season’s
hand, yanked it to its feet. Look: how
these blooms tangle, spin & spangle
the mirrored floor, making a brief, bright
trouble of being seen – dancing past.
Tom Nutting is a poet and editor based in Bristol, England. His writing explores themes of mental distress, nature and environmental mess, and queerness. Read more.