Life's Little Miracles

early this year, i visited the bronx zoo, for the first time. i had the day off - a miserably cold, damp day to boot, and i got on some train and travelled a long way to get to the zoo. a friend gave me the abbreviated tour and then handed me a plant. a plant from the zoo - chinese something was all i caught. i tried to ask him how i was supposed to take care of this special zoo plant. do i water every day or once a week? do i do sunlight or shade? do i...? it's just a plant, it's not that complicated.

well i took her home (they are always girls. even oscar, my car, was a girl - i had to explain to everyone). and i did what i knew i could do. i talked to her and tried to figure out who she was. and then it came to me - chimoto. a flame. like the song. long story but it boils down to all we need is a flame. so i sang the song. and she thrived. until she drowned. i came home and found water in her saucer and chimoto looking rather sick and sad. i drained the water but she got worse. so i moved her and went looking for a friend.

i found the friend in philly. wholefoods. with little yellow flowers so i called her zuva. sunshine. i put zuva on the window sill, next to chimoto and went to to kitchen. boom! crash! i know i live alone so i spend a minute or two in the kitchen having a law & order moment. i head back into the living room and zuva is nowhere to be seen. i look behind the couch and there she is, pot turned over, soil everywhere. the girls, they weren't getting along. so i had to separate them and still i would come home to find, mostly zuva, lying on the ground. pieces of zuva broke off and the yellow flowers shrivelled up and died. i thought of putting zuva in the trash, but i couldn't bring myself to do that. i couldn't give up on her. what kind of barbarian would that make me? in the meantime, chimoto was alive but sickly. i would sing to her every night but she just wasn't happy. i moved her around and reorganised my space and still, blah.

so i went out and got new soil. i repotted the girls and this felt like a richer soil. both pots felt more grounded (knock on wood, the girls have stayed put since). i sprayed the girls with something for plant vermin and, of course, i sang. zuva doesn't really have a song so she had to suffer through chimoto's.

and yesterday - the miracle. i was washing the dishes and i happened to glance over at the top of the fridge (chimoto's home since the repotting) and she was glowing! brand new shiny leaves. i had to look her over again and again. and sing:

tipeiwo chimoto
huni tichazo dziwonera
ikoko kuzimbabwe

give us a flame
we will find the firewood
in zimbabwe

liberation struggle song. zuva had to suffer through it. but her time is coming soon. i have that most dangerous emotion in me. hope. she has new buds and i can feel flowers in her future. i just have to find her song. but it's coming.

the guy at the zoo... he gave me a flame. that's all i need.