Ode to a Blade of Grass
So bravely you stand upright
And refuse to camouflage your trespass
Instead you wear your vibrant green
A brilliant contrast to the asphalt
How do you grow without soil?
How do you withstand the summer heat?
How do you dare encroach our untarnished pavement?
Oh to be as brazen, tenacious, and vibrant!
Why am I writing a somewhat silly poem about a piece of grass that I found growing in our driveway — in our pavement that is less than a year old? Because I was so surprised to see it growing from a tiny hole in which there was no soil. And, the green blades were just so obvious since the pavement still looks so fresh.
Seeing this green sprig reminded me of survival — a theme in A Cursed Enchantment, and a genre all its own. Some of my favorite survival novels are those designed for middle grades: Hatchet, My Side of the Mountain, the I-Survived series. It is amazing what humans have persevered against and survived in the face of incredible odds — and not just in fiction.
The Mahogany Manor family has so much going against them: their size; their lack of provisions; the large number of potential predators; the fact that they have fragile family members to care for (Aurelia is a toddler, Dexter is an infant — and then there is Nana and Grandad who have a little more trouble climbing than the others.)
I find the way this family works together to overcome the many challenges they face inspiring — even though the characters come from my own imagination. Why? Because as I was writing the novel, I could think of so many real people who faced terrible times and not only survived — many of them thrived and went on to help others in amazing ways.
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