Prickly Pear
It's thorny, but critical for the ecosystem
Prickly pear, xerophyte
has thorns and glochids.
It's scary and impenetrable,
but it blooms —
cheerful, iridescent,
yellow flowers
which feed the honeybees.
The fruits are crimson,
juicy, and sweet,
feeding the wildlife.
Even its cladode stem
nurtures cochineal insects,
which give, red dye for
human uses.
The tender cladodes are
consumed as vegetables
by certain communities.
I have tried, too.
It is an inspiration,
the way it knows
its self-defense.
You can't vilify, or belittle
the succulent prickly pear.
Probably, it is more useful
than we consumeristic humans,
serving the habitat it grows in.
About the Creator
Seema Patel
Hi, I am Seema. I have been writing on the internet for 15 years. I have contributed to PubMed, Blogger, Medium, LinkedIn, Substack, and Amazon KDP.
I write about nature, health, parenting, creativity, gardening, and psychology.
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Comments (2)
Cactus's in general are underrated. I have some growing in my window right now. They are used for jelly and medicinal purposes. Great poem. I see you write a lot of poetry. I have a week that I accept poetry on my new publication on Medium - The New Originals. The only stipulation is that it is exclusive to Medium, not published anywhere else. I only post on those articles that are published on my publication.
Beautiful 🏆✍️♦️