Sheepshead Review Spring 2022 Issue

Page 52

inexperience. However, I did find that Mirabilis jalapa is a self-seeding, perennial shrub native to tropical Latin America that produces thin, funnel-shaped flowers. They grow in many colors. The blooms typically open in the late afternoon, allowing their aromatic fragrance to fill the air until morning when the flowers close. This striking process begins the following evening with new flowers. Sometimes, if cloudy, they make a surprise appearance at an earlier time. I read that this plant is believed to have been cultivated since the Aztec Empire days. They may have used Mirabilis jalapa medicinally and ornamentally. I thought back to my own wedding not too long ago. I had stood near Lake Michigan, committing to sharing life with my now-husband until death might do us apart with roses in my hair. I suppose I’d chosen to adorn myself with the generous giving of the earth. Almost like my grandma had as a little girl. Mami Saura’s memory moved mountains inside of me because, honestly, how silly! And beautiful! She ran around, two Flor de Maravillas flying from her tiny ears. Never mind that she didn’t have shoes to wear or that her breakfast was a rolled corn tortilla with salt. In those moments, while she twirled with the earth, magic was possible. This was a new 51

thought in a new light for me; I can embrace plants in a whimsical way. I’ve long had a relationship with plants. Tomatoes in a greenhouse have the best smell, bright and earthy. And it’s easier to breathe near big trees. I also love stories. Together, these two fueled the quest for my abuela’s childhood earrings. What resulted was deep appreciation and remembrance of the harmonizing narrative stories and plants can bring. They speak of promise…long awaited blooms after dark, cold days. Mirabilis jalapa and weigela, two very different shrubs, brought generations and cultures together. They brought my grandmother and I together.


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Articles inside

To Answer Your Question

1min
pages 119-120

Realities of the Universe

2min
page 121

It Just Takes One

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page 117

Theories of Summer

0
page 112

Evil Has No Color

1min
pages 114-115

We Had Influence, So We Must Be Influencers

9min
pages 100-104

Waterfall

0
page 106

Finding Me Behind the A.D.D

3min
pages 109-110

Breathtaking

0
page 99

An Eternal Existence

0
page 107

Storge

0
page 97

Alphabet Stew

0
page 96

Hungry For What I Cannot Eat

2min
pages 93-94

I’ll See You in My Dreams

2min
pages 91-92

Abreshmina the Immortal

11min
pages 86-90

White or Red

5min
pages 66-68

“Peonies Blooming, Strasbourg Reunion”

2min
pages 78-82

New Start

9min
pages 74-77

The Bitch Caves

10min
pages 59-64

Strange Hour

0
page 56

The Day Before My Mother Died

0
page 57

Mirabilis Jalapa

5min
pages 52-54

I Met a King

1min
pages 49-50

Little Squirrel Gargoyles

0
pages 40-41

What is Happiness

2min
pages 24-26

The Car Wash

8min
pages 34-37

Social Anxiety as a Vermeer Rock Saw

5min
pages 31-33

The Death and Life of a Goldfinch

12min
pages 42-47

Intensive Care

7min
pages 20-23

Horizon

3min
pages 17-19

Error: Humans Are Just Parts

0
pages 29-30
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