Beth A. Fleisher

Hour 14

 

Prompt:  In her wonderful book Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer writes — ‘In some Native languages the term for plants translates to “those who take care of us.’  Use any part of this quote (with credit), or the ideas it contains as a jumping off point for your poem this hour.

 

Plants Who Love Us

 

When Creator placed the peoples on Mother Earth,

he also provided everything they needed for food, shelter,

clothing, transportation, happiness, and good health.

All of these good gifts are provided by the birds, fish, and animals

and by plants and trees. Native peoples would say, the wingeds,

the swimmers, and the four-leggeds.

 

When an animal is hunted for food, in the traditional

Native way, the hunter asks permission to take its

life for their food, and then thanks the animal for that gift.

Likewise, when plants are harvested for food, there are

ceremonies to thank the plants for taking care of

the people and for giving them their good medicine.

 

Long before medicine was made in big buildings for profit,

Native peoples knew which plants to use for good health,

where to find them, how to gather them so as to protect

next year’s crop, how to prepare them, and how much

and how often to consume them for the best benefits.

All of these things Creator taught the peoples.

 

In traditional life ways, even in 2020, many Native peoples

still rely on all their relations, plant and animal, to provide

for their needs. A familiar saying is, We are all related.

We are all part of this world that Creator has made for us.

We all help each other. We all take care of each other.

We all need each other.  We are all related.