A Seed Doesn’t Choose Where It Falls

This is an essay about roots, migration, my mother’s favorite flower, and how growth happens even in the most difficult circumstances.

“Her mom’s favorite plant was a kind of cactus whose flower bloomed only once a year, in the dark. Her mom lovingly tended to the plant, and each evening at dinnertime she gave updates, saying with growing anticipation, “It’s almost ready.” Several nights in a row her mom stayed up late, reading a book or grading her seminary students’ papers while checking her flowers to detect the slightest shift in their tightly wound buds, careful not to let any mosquitos in when she opened the front door. Then one night she noticed the buds had picked up their heads almost imperceptibly, turning away from each other to allow space for the white petals to slowly unfurl.”

• Read the full essay in KHÔRA. I was chosen to be one of the first four writers to contribute to KHÔRA, a publication affiliated with Corporeal Writing that was launched in 2020.