The bathroom stall walls where I work are covered in magnetic words. For months, I've been pulling my pants down, then pairing magnets together. Two magnets to please only me with their assonance, alliteration, rhyme, unpredictability, or peculiarity. Why is this important?
When soil is very dry, it cannot absorb water. Some moisture must be present because, if I recall my biology lessons, H20 molecules attract one another thus drawing moisture into the soil. So if you have a plant that is very dry, first you must place the pot in a dish of water and allow the roots to draw some moisture up into the soil. Only then can you douse the soil surface with water and expect it to infiltrate.
Since finishing my MFA, my brain was like that dry soil. I tried to pour books upon it months ago but they pooled uselessly on the surface. But those word pairings were the trickles of hydration below the roots. And now, it's possible to splash my cortex with the written words of others, but gingerly. I can take a bird-bath of reading, no more.
That little bit of moisture has been enough to nourish a few new leaves to share with you. I must be a cactus.
