unleashing alternative futures: letter to my grandma

30 Jun 2023

my dearest grandma ruth,

i have had no adult relationship with you. but i wonder if i will have the roots you gave to my dad. he says you sent him to the woods sometimes to gather plants, roots for medicine. how i wish you had sent me, too. maybe you can?

love, little lawrence

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what plants grow in ocala?

magnolia.

strange plant of my childhood. leaves like leather. flowers like heads of cabbage. sweetness that can be divined from what feels like forever away.

but what of the roots?

banana.

strange plant of my childhood. leaves like pipes that unfurl into bedsheets. flowers like spinning tops. fruit that hangs together like best friends from the dorm.

but what of the roots?

long leaf pine.

strange plant of my childhood. leaves like needles, falling, piling, waiting to be raked. flowers like dusty centipedes. cones that burn

but what of the roots?

these roots, i know. i have tripped on you often. you like to be deep. how deep? they say you prefer the sandhills. is a sandhill is as simple as it sounds? and why do you prefer them?

rilke says that sometimes you just have to be with the questions. that sometimes the questions take years of living to find answers. this is tree wisdom.

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my dearest grandchild,

these roots are for you. they are for everyone. but they are for you. let them be for you.

love, grandma ruth

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