Restharrow

Restharrow roots are dense, a stony tangle to ensnare a plough,

like old memories that can stop us in our tracks, our own,

or unresolved traumas of those who lived before.

We have little choice at present but to be still. So we rest here

with the difficult things, on a bench wrought of old iron ploughs, 

careful to leave some distance for the past between us.

The age of iron is behind us now.  Oak forests long gone to feed

the smelting furnaces. The plough, a heap of rusting metal

at the edge of a field of deadened soil.

We break good brown bread and cheese, a ploughman’s lunch.

“God speed the plough,” our grace, a prayer to shift this stasis,

that our lives may move again.

Restharrow has a three-lobed leaf, its root a cure for blockages.

Three backrests forged of horseshoes bearing salmon, acorn, snake,

each symbol potent with meaning, story, lore.

Our conversation follows the curves of the plough-bench.

No straight lines here, we snag on roots and rocks.

There is no easy, fast track way to change.

Along with bread, we chew over the past, its blessings and its curse.

Digest what woundings we can learn from. Do not keep,

surrender, those that will not serve. Dig them in deep.

A break in our stories, and we rest a moment, breathe,

to feel old hungers, dramas, unmet longings. The past is gone,

and not all is worth saving.

The age of iron is behind us now.  We sit and rest our gaze

on lough and sky. Breathe in the hope that sunrise brings each day,

that still we may find a better way.

I beg you, do not simply plough ahead.  Take this time, this place to rest

and heal. Despite our rich traditions, our old ways were not always wise.

If we take this time to mend what is broken in our path,

we may yet forge a new relationship with the earth.

© Ruth Marshall, March 2021

Restharrow is a common native vetch, with a small pink flower, a threefold leaf, and a dense twisted root traditionally used as a remedy for painful bladder stones and blockages.  Farmers found Restharrow particularly hard to deal with as it could literally 'arrest the harrow' when caught in farm implements.