Vetiver

How often is it that I hear you calling
yourself a good-for-nothing, useless,
unwanted, ugly, and a nuisance?
Don’t be a weed.
Be a vetiver.
Grow stems that are tall and leaves
that are thin with lovely
brown-purple flowers adorning them.
Be versatile, stabilize the ground
around you, and with your rigid stems keep
those crawlers out.
Provide for the animals and protect the fields
against those that are weeds.
Let your oils heal and renew, replenish.
Be strong and durable, yet flexible like the rope
made from vetiver.
Be a vetiver, child for if you are a weed,
you will be culled and thrown out, but
those that have grown themselves a place
within the world will thrive.