How Thyme Cures Anthrax
by Steven Schroeder

Thyme is warm and dry. If someone adds thyme to good herbs and condiments, it carries off the foulness of the person's suffering with its warmth and strength...
-Hildegard of Bingen, Physica (1151-1158)

My sister the herbalist said you could treat anthrax with thyme,
which led to a discussion of what to do with thyme
when you have a lot of terrorists on your hands.
You could put it in a pipe and smoke it,
wear it like garlic around your neck to ward off vampires,
sprinkle it in a magic circle and light a candle,
or follow package directions:
because it aids the digestion of fatty foods,
thyme is a useful addition to meat dishes.
By itself, that would surrender vegetarians to the forces of evil,
which hardly seems fair. But you could make a garland
of its tiny white blossoms and wear it in your hair
like a flower child, whether you eat meat or not. Or burn it
in a thurible and march out of church to cense the whole world.
Thyme blends well with many herbs, enhancing rather than overpowering
other flavors. It adds warmth and pungency to marinades,
stuffings, vegetables, fish, stews and cheese dishes,
a better plan than cluster bombs or Pop Tarts in a mine field;
and it's strictly over the counter--no prescription necessary,
no national security advisor, no generals, no bombers
that look like they were designed for the Klingon Empire,
just an all-natural, freshness dated, non-irradiated real glass jar.

Hildegard says to rub it on or use it in a sauna
to lessen the foulness of leprosy. She tells you how
to make an ointment to treat a disease that leaves you
feeling as if your members were corroded or eaten:
Boil one part sage, two parts tithymal, six parts thyme
in water. Add one part goat tallow, two parts old fat, to
make an ointment. Stand near a fire and apply to all the places
that hurt. Infinite justice indeed: the same ointment kills lice.
Stare at thyme until you cry, and it will make your eyes pure and clear
because the greenness of that herb carries away the storminess in the eyes.

The power of green is a wonder,
and God knows we could use pure,
clear eyes. In your heart, you know
Tom Paine was right: The long habit
of not thinking a thing wrong creates
the superficial impression of its being right
and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom,
but the tumult soon subsides. Thyme makes more converts than reason.

I forgot to ask if it is palliative or cure,
but Hildegard sings it as an ounce of prevention:
Thyme blends well, enhances flavors, never overpowers.
It heals wounds. If you speak to Governor Ridge, tell him.

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How Thyme Cures Anthrax by Steven Schroeder

How Thyme Cures Anthrax
by Steven Schroeder