The Value of Poison

“Why poison?” is something I’m confronted with on a regular basis. This prompt makes sense - I understand how weird it can seem for someone to be waxing poetic about poison plants, of all things. Despite my life revolving around these beings, the question still catches me off guard.

I can’t even count the number of reasons why I am so enamored with them. I mean, have you ever smelled a brugmansia? Have you watched a datura unfurl? Have you met a hogweed taller than yourself? (I haven’t done that last one but it’s on my bucket list) There’s a lot to love about these intoxicating beings and I want to write novels on how incredible every single one is. But there is so much more to appreciate than their surface value allure.

I’ve finally distilled down an answer into three main explanations.

1. Poison plants offer perspective. The word “poisonous” has often been used as a way to influence others. We are more likely to stay away from things we think will harm us. But in reality, everything is poisonous and can kill you if handled without care. Even water, the most beneficial life-giving substance I can think of, will kill you if used at too high a dose. The whole world is about balance. Poison should be a verb, not an adjective. When I hear something is labeled as poisonous, I get curious about what has become imbalanced to create such a reputation. Most times, its origins are political.

Poison plants also have their own agenda and remind us that they are autonomous beings. They have an entire life outside of our gaze and are not just existing for human use. They require cooperation to experience their benefits, refusing to accommodate any mishandling. These plants insist you touch them with mindfulness and respect, allowing you to practice how you should be interacting with all beings - not just the threatening ones. They remind us that humans are not as in control as we believe and that the lost art of developing relationships should be at the foundation of everything we do.

2. Poison is a memento mori. Working alongside something that has the power to kill you if mishandled makes you very aware of your own actions - and your own mortality. Having a practice that involves a memento mori, a latin phrase for “remember that you will die”, helps keep focus on what is important. I am less likely to get caught up worrying about small matters when I have an eye on the bigger picture that my time in this body is finite. I want to ensure I have accomplished what I am hoping to before my own life runs out.

Thinking about our own inevitable ending can amplify how we live. The contrast intensifies the amount of love we have to pour into this world. It is an embodiment of the Kahlil Gibran quote: “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potters oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirits the very wood that was hollowed with knives?”

3. Poison plants illuminate the forgotten. All of our ancestors worked with powerful plants. These are the plants that were revered in art, science, and religion, working cooperatively with humans to create something world-building and expansive. Trace your family back far enough and you will surely find a culture that was mindful of their power, not afraid of it. But like many things in our current sociopolitical climate, they have been disregarded in modern-day. Rekindling relationships with the plants themselves offers a way back into this long line of much-needed wisdom.

Exactly what is in this dense thicket of knowledge can help us learn more about ourselves - both individually and collectively. There is a whole library tucked away in the margins of our humanity. Traversing these hedges not only grants access to a richer understanding of ecology and humans’ place in the world, but also teaches how to integrate our own shadow sides and develop a more complete understanding of who we are. Poison plants are a lesson in radical acceptance.

I think the definitive answer to the question: “why poison?” is because these plants can help us remember how to be better human beings. And with that creates a more balanced world again.