Women were long the plant wisdom keepers
important herbs and spices
mushrooms that bring back life or take it away, to uncover secrets of mind
ways to extract or brew
passed woman to woman over centuries
Bark of willow
tea of pennyroyal
powdered turmeric root
gel of aloe Vera leaf
leaf of coleus and basil
Over time plant knowledge was bound into books
codified and credited to male lineage
women of herbal knowledge called witches
unlike men sworn to do no harm
healing herbs called poison
Here in the high desert
home to thorns and brilliant skies
medicine women and poets turn over the soil of place and circumstance
restore cycles of groundwater
take their names from the natural world
bind themselves to healing planet and soul
bring forward canopies of cool green leaves
elixirs of well-being
inoculation of the feminine
paths to acceptance
ways to peace
#NaPoWriMo
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