Kudzu

The peculiar vulgarity of this plant is not so much its invasiveness, though it does display this particular characteristic, but its perniciousness.  That is to say, while kudzu dominates the landscapes of its newfound environment so as to blockade the sun from its victim host, it does so in a most sadistic manner.  The decimation introduced by the plant is not immediate or sudden, though once propagated is swift.  It is gentle at first, minimalistic—quaint, even.  Seemingly a delicate perennial, and potentially ornamental, it comes as a tender shoot merely to highlight the naturally present species as a paltry garnish.  It does not invade like a pirate boarding a ship, cannons blazing.  Though the tragic irony is that it did come to the West via trade ships from the East.  It does not demand immediate surrender.  It simply and with humble facade demands a very small plot of soil to take root in.  It even carries the promise of revivifying the air by recycling the stagnant nitrogen in the ambient atmosphere.  Who knows but that it may increase the value of the property by making it more aesthetically appealing.  With so many benefits, how could the plot owner refuse such a grand deal?   What the taker of the deal may be unaware of, however, is the end.   If you give a mouse a cookie, he may ask for a glass of milk. If you give a shoot of kudzu an ounce of soil, he will ask for the Earth.  China may not need a trade deal to lay down their stake on the Western front since they have quite literally taken root through their kudzu.  If you’re going to make a deal, you want to see that it ultimately works in your favor.  If you’re going to cast the lot, it would be nice to control variables that sway the outcome of the dice roll.  If you’re going to cut a deal with kudzu, be sure you’re prepared to do more than cut the branches—you may have to uproot the whole lot.  Much the same with sin.  Though that is not a deal you can ever achieve an ultimate favorable outcome with.  It may be pleasant window dressing for a short while.  But the devouring plant that dwells underneath will choke the very life out which it so sweetly promised from the start.