All images by Annelise Lords
I love teas. I was raised drinking something warm every morning. Tea is a tradition passed down to us from our colonizer the British.
In Jamaica, we drink lots of herbal teas passed to us from our African ancestors. These herbs grow wild and naturally across Jamaica.
Cerasee tea has antimicrobial and antiviral properties, which may help strengthen your immunity and help your body fight the common cold, flu, and other diseases. The tea can also help kill worms and parasites, which is good for intestinal health.
https://www.medicinenet.com/does_cerasee_tea_have_health_benefits/article.htm
All images by Annelise Lords
Also known as the Bees Bush, the bright pink flowers of Rice and Peas bush can be seen along many roadsides in Jamaica. It is popularly known as “cold bush” and is highly regarded for addressing the flu and colds. It is also used to relieve period pains and muscle cramps, but its primary use is to support the lungs.
Leaf of Life (Bryophyllum pinnatum) is a succulent plant that is a good Jamaican remedy for bronchial problems, colds, chest congestion, flu, asthma, and shortness of breath. The common names are Tree of Life, Miracle Leaf, Wonder of the World, and Live Forever.
Someone planted this mint in a tire on the sidewalk. Anyone can pick a few leaves and brew a cup of mint tea.
This morning I brew Lipton green tea. I often squeeze half of a lemon through a strainer, then add a spoonful of organic honey. I haven’t sweetened my tea with sugar in more than ten years.
This is what I saw in my tea. Two pieces of lemon pulp got into my tea. I don’t know how. It looks like an L or a V, depending on how I turn my cup.
I smiled thinking how these two have united.
While I enjoyed callaloo and my homemade bread, I noticed that they stuck together as my tea got less. It’s like they knew that together we stand. Alone, I fall, fail, and finish, without a future.
I decided to run a test. I purposely added two more pieces of pulp into my cup, along with more green tea.
Amazingly, one of the two united, the other pulp stayed its distance.
I kept sipping and enjoying my breakfast and the fourth pulp refused to unite.
All images by Annelise Lords
Was it fear? Why didn’t the other lemon pulp join the others?
Our world is in crisis right now. Unity can solve lots of our problems while saving lives and gifting humanity peace. In unity, all of us have hope, strength, and the will to survive. The opposite for the ones who don’t. Fear can be a weapon or a tool. Right now, it’s been used as a weapon to contribute to the disunity our world is raging in, harming humanity in many ways.
Almost at the end, I noticed the first to go down my throat was the single pulp that didn’t want to unite.
Staring into the cup at the other three pieces of lemon pulps still clinging together in unity. This is humanity without fear. I realized, that the ones who refused to unite would be the first ones to fall, fail, stumble, be left behind, or whatever you want to call. They will not taste the sweetness of victory.
Yes, there is strength in unity!
In the end, the three pieces of lemon pulp stuck together no matter what.
This is humanity, only in unity will we survive!
Thanking Dancing Elephants Press, writers, readers, and editors for their support, love, and kindness.
Guidelines.
There is strength and survival in unity. Use your creative imagination in a poem or story to show the world simple and imaginative ways we can unite for the good of all, whether it’s humans, insects, plants, or animals. Be daring, fearless, and crazy if you have to. Lol. Be who or what you want to be, for unity. And please, have fun while doing it.
There is no limit here.
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If your heart could speak, what would it say?
Unity for me!
What My Heart Said . . . .
Thank you for reading this piece. Please, let your heart speak.