View larger 
59. Herbarium
(Mirabal, Elizabeth)
978-1-951370-32-9
In this Herbarium, Elizabeth Mirabal warns us several times that she is not moved by any scientific
pretension, qualifying her work as random and careless, which certainly contradicts her
knowledge of the flowers, trees, and herbs that populate her book. On the one hand, the rigor
with which she describes the qualities of certain plants is not lost on an informed reader. On the
other hand, I sense a poetic intent in the description and analysis of some of them. It has long
been accepted that poetry is not governed by strict canons, but can be hidden in the infinite folds
of everyday reality. Elizabeth is concerned with those “invisible flowers that grow within us and
change with the seasons of our lives.” I believe that, perhaps unintentionally, her Herbarium was
born with the poetic entrails that run through much of its pages. It is not my task to reveal
examples. I only wish the reader to discover and enjoy, as I have, this ritual of magic.
FERNANDO PALENZUELA
Author Elizabeth Mirabal
ISBN 978-1-951370-32-9
Pages 205
Format Paperback
In the hidden woods past the apartment buildings
of the old Russian quarter, many have tried to prevent her
from coming in contact with the stinging nettle.
In that stage, with gold and orange leaves, she must
create butterflies of plasticine bodies. The leaves then
metamorphosed into wings of a species incapable of flying.
The pine trees were fake as well, plastic branches
adorned with rare Christmas ornaments: enormous rosy,
pink balls, babies draped in silver veils, foxes, and an owl.