A Cactus is a plant.

Take the cactus out of the rain,
she says,
they're meant for deserts, remember?

The city is a desert,
I mutter,
It's not metaphysical,
she says,
it's a fucking plant.

I like the weeds,
and the grass,
I say.
The wild stuff.
The money plant is
thriving,
at least, there's that.

They grow everywhere,
she says.
Very hardy.
That's what they told me
about the bougainvillea,
I complain,
and the cactus.

Well, she says.

Now orchids,
she says,
those are some kind of metaphysical
did you know they can
kill you?
Some of them, at least.
but not cacti.
They're just desert plants.

Throw away the dead things
she says,
and let something grow.