Fish Mint

Is a plant
Called Chameleon
And someone thinks
Smells like cat
Urine

It has strong
Roots
Extremely so
And it’s not enough
To pull the green part
Or the stem
Or the first clump
Of roots

You see
You have to go down deep
And find all the root
Pieces

Take them out of the ground
So that the only thing
Left in the earth
Is earth

This is the only way
To clear out the intrusive plant
And plant something
Kinder

And what of us
Except that when we have deep roots
Of things also intrusive without
Allowing
Other hale things in

Say
Fish mint roots as
The isms that invade
Try to take over

Racism
Classism
Misogynism
Ageism

That will kill a healthy thing
Such as a human spirit
That could grow
Into a
Viable
And sun-lit
Being

C L Couch


Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash