Poem: "It Reveals You to Yourself"
This poem is spillover from the July 7, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from 
rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Candy" square in my 7-1-20 card for the Winterfest in July Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
janetmiles. It belongs to the series One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis.
"It Reveals You to Yourself"
Shaeth went to visit
Abredin the Herb Goddess
in search of candied herbs
to keep his followers in comfort.
She had horehound lozenges
to sooth a sore throat and
candied fennel seeds
for an upset stomach.
Candied angelica stem
likewise settled digestion
and discouraged overuse
of alcoholic spirits, too.
"Thank you," Shaeth said
as she packed up the candy.
"It's too bad that you don't
have any intoxicants, though."
"Oh, we have those too,"
Abredin said, pointing him
toward a different garden.
Shaeth looked. It was ... tall.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Five-fingers leaf," she said, and
yes, the plants did have leaves
that looked a lot like little hands.
"It grows like a weed; in fact
some people call it that. I think
your followers would like it."
"So what does it do?"
Shaeth wondered.
"When you smoke the herb,
it reveals you to yourself,"
Abredin explained.
"And you want to give
this to my followers?"
Shaeth said, raising
his eyebrows. He
remembered the bit
about the absinthe.
"Trust me, weed is
different," she said. "It
gives very nice dreams."
"I suppose it's worth a try,"
Shaeth said dubiously.
Some of his people
would try anything.
The next day, he and
his high priest fired up
the incense burner.
It gave off a spicy smoke
that curled lazily upwards.
Shaeth didn't feel any different ...
until he noticed that his worries
seemed to have fallen off
somewhere, and he couldn't
remember where he'd left them.
Instead he found himself
fascinated by remembering
things he'd accomplished
with his new followers and
how they were building
on the dreams they had.
He poked Trobby with his toe.
"What?" Trobby said lazily.
"I don't wanna get up."
"You worried about
anything?" Shaeth said.
"Nah," Trobby said, then
rolled over to stare at him.
"That is sooo not like me."
"Me neither," Shaeth said.
"I think we owe Abredin
a favor," said Trobby.
"A biiiiiiig favor,"
Shaeth agreed.
"What does she
like?" Trobby said.
"She likes plants,"
Shaeth replied,
"even the weeds."
"Well, we could plant
a garden," Trobby said.
"A biiiiiiig garden," Shaeth said.
So the next day, when they had
some energy again, they began
digging space for an herb garden
beside the temple grounds.
And they weren't even
hung over when they did it.
* * *
Notes:
“When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself.”
― Bob Marley
Candied angelica has many benefits.
Horehound candy is good for coughs and sore throats.
Candied fennel seeds can sweeten breath and aid digestion.
rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Candy" square in my 7-1-20 card for the Winterfest in July Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to the series One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis."It Reveals You to Yourself"
Shaeth went to visit
Abredin the Herb Goddess
in search of candied herbs
to keep his followers in comfort.
She had horehound lozenges
to sooth a sore throat and
candied fennel seeds
for an upset stomach.
Candied angelica stem
likewise settled digestion
and discouraged overuse
of alcoholic spirits, too.
"Thank you," Shaeth said
as she packed up the candy.
"It's too bad that you don't
have any intoxicants, though."
"Oh, we have those too,"
Abredin said, pointing him
toward a different garden.
Shaeth looked. It was ... tall.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Five-fingers leaf," she said, and
yes, the plants did have leaves
that looked a lot like little hands.
"It grows like a weed; in fact
some people call it that. I think
your followers would like it."
"So what does it do?"
Shaeth wondered.
"When you smoke the herb,
it reveals you to yourself,"
Abredin explained.
"And you want to give
this to my followers?"
Shaeth said, raising
his eyebrows. He
remembered the bit
about the absinthe.
"Trust me, weed is
different," she said. "It
gives very nice dreams."
"I suppose it's worth a try,"
Shaeth said dubiously.
Some of his people
would try anything.
The next day, he and
his high priest fired up
the incense burner.
It gave off a spicy smoke
that curled lazily upwards.
Shaeth didn't feel any different ...
until he noticed that his worries
seemed to have fallen off
somewhere, and he couldn't
remember where he'd left them.
Instead he found himself
fascinated by remembering
things he'd accomplished
with his new followers and
how they were building
on the dreams they had.
He poked Trobby with his toe.
"What?" Trobby said lazily.
"I don't wanna get up."
"You worried about
anything?" Shaeth said.
"Nah," Trobby said, then
rolled over to stare at him.
"That is sooo not like me."
"Me neither," Shaeth said.
"I think we owe Abredin
a favor," said Trobby.
"A biiiiiiig favor,"
Shaeth agreed.
"What does she
like?" Trobby said.
"She likes plants,"
Shaeth replied,
"even the weeds."
"Well, we could plant
a garden," Trobby said.
"A biiiiiiig garden," Shaeth said.
So the next day, when they had
some energy again, they began
digging space for an herb garden
beside the temple grounds.
And they weren't even
hung over when they did it.
* * *
Notes:
“When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself.”
― Bob Marley
Candied angelica has many benefits.
Horehound candy is good for coughs and sore throats.
Candied fennel seeds can sweeten breath and aid digestion.