Tansy * noun * [Origin: Middle
English-tanesey, Old French-tanesie, Medieval Latin-athanasia,
Greek-athanatos—immortal, equivalent to a + thanatos—death] * a common weedy
composite herb (Tanaceum vulgare) with an aromatic odor, very bitter taste, and
finely divided leaves; broadly: a plant of the same genus
sometimes I’ll be
standing in a field
and it looks like I’m
doing nothing
I’ll tell you
--shhhh—
I’m listening
with my eyes
today I see
a small plant
with lacy leaves
and delicate yellow flowers
in April
it seems too early
to see blooms
but for these tough winter annuals
this tansy mustard
it’s just another day in the sun
and looking small and delicate
is a ruse
for how resilient
Mother Nature
has created her children
that proliferate
this early
a child of the aster family
cousin of the daisy
Tansy’s root word is a relative of death
meaning immortality and health
like the bitter yellow tansy
I may be sensitive and small
but am weather worn and
stand through storms
ready for what is blown my way
do not see only with your eyes
but listen closely too
very still
and hear as I do
the small fire within
I am ready for the next season
my tansy season
I am tough
but lacy
delicate
but strong
growing
flowering
ready
every edge cut just so
for you old man weather
this little tansy Julie
grows on
blooms on
lives on
tansy—immortal—me.
April 30, 2020
Tansy Julie Soaring Eagle Paschold
