In the November sun, the mullein’s hairs soften its outline in the light. They hold the plant’s water and keep it from the sun. They keep it.

In the December fog, the mullein combs water from the air with its hairs, which then hold it. In both instances, they stop its flow. They keep it.

The water that flows into the soil they take up with their roots. It is all this water, the water from the sky and the water from the sky that has been taken up by the soil, that they hold, and keep. Water might flow, but water doesn’t necessarily flow away. Rather, it stills.