I believe that people are very much like plants- thriving (or not) according to the nutrients they receive. Even the most hardy of us requires a constant supply of the ‘good stuff’. (I lost my aunt last week and we’re all still in shock- and because grief and resilience live together, I carry on- in the only way I know).

A plant sits in a field
neither thriving nor dying
She-barely bearing fruit
showered constantly by poison rain
until the farmer replants her in fresh soil
-soil filled with the nutrition of love and kindness
showered with encouragement
until she begins to bear fruit
-fruit filled with the nectar of joy
and seeds of future promise
….and it all began by changing soil

©Vivian Zems

Real Toads