Even if you rip weeds out of the earth
with your bare
Black woman hands,
the memory of the
weeds will linger.
Sprinkle salt water on the weeds
that smother your heirloom tomatoes.
Harvest the dandelion blossoms
for the honey wine recipe passed down
from generation to generation.
Gather chickweed to soothe
our skin and aching bones.
Till the soil.
Till the soil.
Till the soil.
Speak softly to the Knotweeds.
They will feed you in thin times
with their soft rendered leaves.
Pretty flowers are not the only ones
that can speak.
Listen closely to the dull drone
of the weeds.
They teach us
how to survive
under the threat
of everyday extermination.
