Early Peony Remedies (After Ashkenazi Herbalism)
For bad dreams, drink 15 seeds with wine.
For vivid dreams, place petals in a silk pillowcase.
For cramps, drink a quantity the size of an almond.
For a teething child, place a necklace of beads made from the roots around their neck.
For hysteria, pound the root, mix with poppy seed, dip in honey and eat.
For an angry disposition, crush the seed, and stomp into the earth.
For shaking, dip in the blood of a swallow, roll in flour and eat.
For weeping, wash the face with essence to restore hydration
For a dead bird, bury at the roots of a peony.
For sheep lost in the night, follow moonlight emanating from the flowers.
For peace, bath among 36 petals. Scoop up remains with an old teacup.
For prayer, touch each petal, and then each part of the face.
For a misplaced book,
ask the peonies for poetry.
Hannah Yerington is a poet, a Jewish Arts educator, and the director of the Bolinas Poetry Camp for Girls. She comes from Bolinas, California, and lives between Bellingham, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia, with her old gentleman dog, Paddington. She has an MFA from Bowling Green State University. Her first chapbook, Sheologies, is being published by Minerva Rising Press this Spring.