by Shikha S. Lamba
“Plants emit a ‘rather noisy’ cry for help when under stress.”
CBS News 31 March 2023
They say, plants will not feel anxious unless you
sit by them depressed and long detached from your own life,
unless you dispense your worries into them,
fumigating them with your defeated breath.
If you speak to plants with a pinch of generosity,
compassion for your own words and being,
they will make pleasing memories of you and your voice.
If you press your ears against a stem, calm your adrenalin,
still yourself to listen, it may deliver back a sense of a conversation.
Arrange yourself around the foliage of a plant you’ve stressed,
sing to it – yes, serenade to it like you would to a dispirited lover.
Let your hands absorb the tremors from your dying Empress palm,
calming its cries, don’t wait for the sun, don’t wait to prune,
don’t get stuck in words like blight and photosynthesis.
Don’t wait till your Pachira sheds its sickly albus leaves,
brush the braid ever so gently with a song, anything sweet and
raspy, a soothing ballad familiar with your lips.
© 2025 Shikha S. Lamba All rights reserved.
Click or tap here to see Shikha S. Lamba’s profile.
Use the “Leave a Comment” form below to submit comments on this piece.