the tragedy of desert winds
Segueros do their healing in the hot wind. the unbearably got wind which scorches and withers all other plants. the wind which carries the dust and sand on it, and rasps against anything moist and tender.
for a seguero the wind is a friend.
it embraces the wind, it hugs it . embracing its coming as old bitter yet needful lovers.
yes, the seguero is healed by the hot wind, as it cauterizes the wind and seals the wounds in a fry film.
but if the wound is deep, the wind can not help.
if a young boy, for example, buys a pistole and shoots through the upper stages of a seguero, the wind shall not be enough.
a grazed patch of peripheral flesh is still safe from the hungry birds, that crave the inner moist flesh, but know the harshness of the thorns and spikes, which mercilessly pierce through skin and feather.
but if a hole is deep enough, then the birds shall find an easy perch, crawling inside the hole and pecking at the undefended flesh.
it is then that the seguero makes a tragic choice; the top part of the plant, which directs the growth of all parts of the plant, shall send a chemical message of calamity. all nutrients must cease to flow to that part, and if possible they must be absorbed by lower, unhurt parts.
more crucially, tissues of undesignated cells, called rhizoms, which are prevelent throughout the plant, and my be turned to all forms of plant tissue , such as roots, leaves or flowering stems, begin to concentrate their growth towards growing a new stalk or even a new top. thus, seguero, as well as other cactai develop stalks that seem to sprout at right angles from the main body. some compare them to raised hands, but they are in fact a memory of terrible pain and violence, which the wind shall not heal.