𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝓞𝓪𝓴

Oh, thou mistletoe

resting in mine spacious boughs

as gentle earth yieldeth her

loving sustenance unto

mine vast foundation

yet thou tasteth of.

the heavens poureth upon

mine parched countenance

yet thou drinketh thy fill.

a burrowed acquaintance

of feigning adoration

thou reapest whilst thy

gracious resting place

soweth.

oh, mistletoe

how this quiet form yearneth

for a tempest howling of

heaven's mighty winds to

bloweth thee away from

amongst mine exceedingly

weary boughs.

🌳

Author's note: Mistletoe is a hemiparasitic plant that penetrates the bark of the host tree to access the vascular system to leech away water and nutrients in this symbiotic relationship. It doesn't kill the host tree, but can weaken it. I often find clumps of it on the ground after heavy winds. I read a story about love the other day, and they described it as symbiotic and of course my first thought was lazy leechy mistletoe...and you know, there are a lot of relationships where one partner obligingly tolerates leeching by their "mistletoe" partner.

May we never be mistletoe to the tree we love.