Thursday, November 6, 2014

Yellow Valerian

Carpe Diem 599 Yellow Colored Valerian

On reading further about the Valerian plant I found that it was like catnip and was attractive to cats.   If it smells like cat urine, how do they use it for perfume?  The flowers are said to smell good.  It was also noted as being  attractive to rats and  that the Pied Piper of Hamlin may have used this odorous root to lure the rats to the river where they drown.  I always thought it was his magical flute.
It is also used in tea for insomnia.  The root produces more oil in poor soil.


scented Valerian
attractive to vermin and man
what secrets you hold
       
              ~

your head held up high
rich oil tinctured in tea
my head must bow down


12 comments:

  1. Learned a lot here -- thanks for the background info as well as your wonderful haiku :)

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    1. It thought some of it was interesting. Not able to do much with the haiku though.

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  2. Bowed heads are usually receptive heads...

    Yellow Valerian

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  3. The secrets are often the most intriguing things about certain plants.

    Yellow Valerian

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  4. Thanks -- was not able to pull in much feeling with these haiku. Thoughts have kind of dried up. Have written close to 100 haiku and 10 haibun in the past 3 weeks.

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  5. Always hold your head high - I like your haiku very much. Different angles make poetry interesting.

    Indeed mysteries abound will dramatic tales of rescue especially when the hero is cheated and then demands a reward.
    It is strange how smell can be an attraction at various levels of intensity - and mixed with others to mask the true intent.

    Thank you for stopping by. It is a pleasure to meet you!

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  6. Yellow Valerian is in a way a magical and mysterious herb, but it has very nice possibilities for tea and insomnia.

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    1. mysterious herb
      tea of possibilities
      insomniacs dream

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