Green cousins, you are superior to us

You fear no pain, you seek no pleasure

While we jump and bite and starve

And toil away under manmade rafters

Breathe, drink, and sunbathe are all you do

So that you don’t lift a finger for food

Self-independent, how noble

But wait, bugs pollinate you

You paint your petals iridescent and ultraviolet

And you mist the air with aromatic sugar

So that perchance you can make more of you

Perhaps we’re not different

No, that’s not it because you can’t feel it

While we seethe in agony at bones cracking and tendons snapping

You keep swaying in the apathetic wind as the hungry caterpillar tears into you

But we never see you cry

The only thing we have in common is that we’ll die
​
But wait, you don’t mind

Writer's Statement: ​Sometimes I wonder what life is like as a plant.