In this poem I wanted to bring to mind the way in which something so natural (and in some cases beautiful) can wreak havoc on the body. For example, ragweed can cause people to experience terrible allergic reactions and respiratory irritations. Yet, there is a freedom in its movement—a circumstance in direct contrast to someone who is very sick or otherwise bedridden.

In writing the free verse of Ragweed, the characteristics of the plant worked in tandem with how I perceived my mother while she was dying, how she perceived herself, and how we discussed her disease. Death, she would say, is such a natural part of life—and yet she felt betrayed by it. The cancer was not caused by something odd or external entering her body. It washer body—ravaging itself. It moved freely and unencumbered throughout her body while simultaneously limiting heractual movement. And thus, when given ragweed in a writing seminar only a few months after her death, I immediately thought of my mother. Or, perhaps I was already thinking of her