back then, ill,
ill with the pain of living through it, she bled,
bled, bled on the inside
but
she kept pruning, pruning
until
the sap began to thicken forth
(cohesion-tension)
forth, through xylem cells, vessels to the outer layer
bringing inorganic salts, hormones, waste materials and nitrogenous compounds
now,
when she prunes
the sap treacles forth, phloem, from her severed branches, carrying sugars, honeydew, healing syrups