fireweed speaks
she speaks in light
she speaks into the light
she speaks in spark
and blaze and bright
and tending after fire’s ending
fireweed speaks
she speaks in air
she speaks into the air
she speaks in feathered
threaded seeds, released
and drifting into flight
by wind above
the blackened ground
fireweed speaks
she speaks in earth
she speaks into the earth
she speaks in rhizomes
underneath that come to life
in ash and thrive
and reach into the light
fireweed speaks
she speaks in bloom
she speaks into the blooming
she speaks in buds
and blossoms calling
to the winged ones
who taste return, who taste
the radical returning
fireweed speaks
she speaks into the burning
Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium or Epilobium angustifolium), is an herbaceous plant from the willowherb family that is native to the subarctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In England it is also called rosebay willowherb.
Botanical drawing: Anne Holmes
Fireweed heals and reclaims disrupted land disturbed by wildfire, logging and oil spills. It was one of the first plants to return after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington and grew in burned ground after London was bombed in World War II. (In England one of its common names is “bombweed”.) In The Fellowship of the Ring, JRR Tolkien describes fireweed returning to the site of a bonfire inside the Old Forest.
In Russia, fireweed is brewed as a fermented tea called Ivan-Chai or Koporsky tea and honey produced by bees who pollinate fireweed nectar is rare and transparent with a light colour and delicate taste.
Fireweed offers medicine that is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial. It is used to treat benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and soothes gastric and stomach issues and irritable bowel syndrome. Not surprisingly, it helps heal burns, wounds, eczema and psoriasis.
Fireweed is called “Kast’an” in the Dakelh (ᑕᗸᒡ) or Carrier language. It is a symbol of bounty to the the Dakelh First Nations people in Central Interior of British Columbia. People who live in the north say that when fireweed blooms to the top of the stalk, summer is nearly over. When the blossoms begin turning to seed, winter preparations should begin.
Sources:
1. Fireweed – dwarf. Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute, via Andre, Alestine. Nan t’aih nakwits’inahtsh (The Land Gives Us Strength), 2006.
2. Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium), USDA Forest Service.
3. Emily Williams, Meet the Purple Flower that Thrives after Wildfire – Fireweed. CBC News: posted August 4, 2023.
4. Elise Krohn, Fireweed. Wild Foods and Medicines Blog.
Music pairing: The East Pointers, 82 Fires, 2017.
May these words bring truth and healing
through open hands and hearts. And then,
let it flow back into our Mother Earth
for the love of all her beings.
This poem was conceived and grown organically from my own unique human experience, thoughts, efforts, knowledge and research.
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Love this, I didn’t know fireweed, thank you for introducing us.
So glad you enjoyed it!