Random Thoughts from May 2003

If I Were a Plant...

... I'd be a cattail [defunct]. Then I'd be able to provide all the basics, housing, moisture, food, comfort and fun. Parts of me would be carried with many people for many reasons, ranging from pure aesthetics to curiosity about why I am what I am to functionality, and everywhere I went I'd find a spot that suited me, whether to sprout in right away or to lie dormant for rains to wake me up a while. My days would be spent outside in the sun observing that which passes by, until parts of me were taken inside to become part of some floral arrangement, or a child's toy. Perhaps I'd be made into a bed. Not only could I be woven into a frame (perhaps in tandem with my friends the willows), but my blown heads could be collected and used as filling for pillows and mattresses. When the fabric around me became worn or I became dirty, I could be returned to the ground and any part of me would sprout anew. I could thrive under a wide range of conditions and utilize that which was perhaps too impure for other plants, roadside water and sewage and such. I would offer beauty without distraction or pretension, stability without rigidity. I would stand tall and proud, alone if need be, or in the presence of friends. (The cattail has no natural enemy.) I'd enjoy the company of willows and maples, watercress and gotu kola, fish, frogs, turtles and bugs at my feet, birds among my reeds, plucking at my seed heads, humans and other animals walking among me collecting my roots, shoots and pollen for food, my reeds and seeds for many purposes, every 'destructive' act wrought upon me bringing bountiful new growth. And at the same time I would bow gracefully to the forces that move me, the wind and water, earth and sun. I would wave to the dandelions across the field, those of my ilk who (generally) prefer somewhat drier ground. Instead of dying I'd just dry up and shrivel off in one part, sprouting shoots over there, and there, and there, simply roving, exploring, delighting each time someone discovered a new way to use me, delighting especially when the form of that use was pleasing to my senses. It'd be a regular cat's tale. :)