In Praise of Weeds

Photo Credit: Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

My son flies to me with a fistfuls of backyard blooms: Philadelphia fleabane, trillium, aniseroot, carpet bugle, clover. Children seem to innately recognize beauty in what adults might dismiss as “weeds.” Looking through my son’s eyes, I note the fleabane’s rose fringe tucked around its bright yellow button, the aniseroot’s clusters of dainty white stars, the trilliums’ leaves dappled in tattooed shadows. Placing each breathing thing in a glass jar, I consecrate the bounty…

Read more of my guest post on author Shemaiah Gonzalez’s Substack Undaunted Joy, also the title of her delightful new release.