Green Magic

 Green Magic

As a farm kid, eating plants was part of the culture.

I loved spinach, turned my nose up at salads.

Sweet corn was a treat, but no way would I consider cooked tomatoes.

Eating green beans took will power, but I did it to please my mom.

She grew all these vegetables in her garden.

As a young mother, I was moved to plant a garden too.

The thrill of green shoots appearing above the soil,

All from tiny seeds, the miracle of continuing life,

It pulled me for good into this new world of plants. 

They became my friends, and I watched them grow.

Yet even then, the green world had more in store for me.

From my neighbors, I learned about herbal medicine.

Growing medicine in my garden?!  How intriguing.

These plant helpers were already existing on their own,

Along the roadsides, at the margins, in the woods.

Now the green world is my teacher.

We humans have used herbs for healing since ancient times 

But how did our far ancestors know what to use?

What guided them to the right green medicine? 

It was no accident. That I know.