water lily stems don’t need to be strong. they need to be flexible. if you pull a lily pad from the water, the stem has no resistance or strength. but that’s not its job. its job is to stay flexible so that it doesn’t snap under the force of wind or current. and, astoundingly, its other job is to conduct oxygen from the leaf to the root, by means of pressure built up in the air spaces of the leaf tissue when the young leaf is heated by the sun. in other words, sometimes you need a soldier and sometimes you need a poet. thank heavens for both of them, but don’t put this delicate specialist into battle. let it float motionless, soak up the heat of the sun, and contemplate it’s very narrow conclusions on the meaning of existence.

dried water lilies

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota