Ode to Stinging Nettle

I was hurt and angry when you lashed out at my gentle touch.  You left me shocked and in tears.  It was a very long time before I could approach you without trepidation.  I kept an eye out for you where ever I went.

Slowly, I began to look past your bitter and stinging approach. I grew immune or perhaps tolerant of your aggressive behavior and I saw the benefit of having you around.  Allowing you to grow in select areas, your beauty and benefits began to shine.  I noticed the stately monarch butterfly perch for a taste of your sweet nectar. How could I shun a resting place for such royalty?

I observed your symbiotic relationship with the strawberries as you grew tall and proud.  The insects attracted to the fruit- bearing flowers also nurtured your reproduction.  In return you provided the necessary protection from a certain hungry predator.  I respect your strength and persistence as I find you sneaking around all types of neighborhoods. Your kind are equally feisty whether in the fertile soil of the garden or the barren ground near the foundation of the house.

You give up your tender, small, green leaves with little resistance, keeping the fight for the older, more mature ones. My greed for your nourishing iron, calcium and vitamin C is kept in check as I plan for my next cup of tea or addition to my salad.  Oh, the glorious range of yellows and greens you produce when used as a dye for cotton and woolen yarn.  Even in your death I covet you, for you are a marvelous activator for my compost pile and the cycle of life and love begins again.

Photos courtesy of the internet.