Kohlrabi – Ode to Omi

Omi, with laughter deep as roots,

hands cradling the swollen bulbs of kohlrabi,

you stood in your Berlin garden,

woven into the earth like the trees that knew your name.

The sun stitched golden threads through your curls,

wrinkles unfolding in joy,

a face etched with seasons of giving,

harvests of care, always enough, always more.

You, who whispered to seedlings,

sang lullabies to the wind,

and taught love through the simple grace

of soil beneath fingernails.

I still hear you in the rustle of leaves,

feel your warmth in the scent of cut herbs,

your hands still guide me—

soft, unseen, yet certain.

Omi, your garden still grows in me,

your wisdom, your kindness, your quiet strength.

And when I stand beneath the sky,

I know—

you are still tending, still watching,

still mine.

— For my maternal grandmother, Omi.

MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in education, healing and wellbeing, peace and stabilization, and foreign aid audits and evaluations. She lives in Paris. Her latest books are: If Paris Were My Lover (2025) and Innovations within Constraints Handbook (2025).

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