ROOTS AND RINGS

 

Roots and Rings

In the forest of my youth, two ancient trees stood tall,

Their roots a tangle of shared histories, their branches in a sprawl.

I grew between them, a sapling in their shade,

Learning the language of the life they’d made.  

The mother tree, she taught me quiet war,

Her battles fought with grace, her heart a silent roar.

The father tree, he showed me how to bend,

To accept the storms, to sway but never end.  

Now I stand, a tree with my own rings,

No longer bound by their autumns or their springs.

I understand the soil from which I grew,

And in their legacy, I’ve found my own breakthrough.  

As night descends, we light the dark with love,

Our own constellations in the sky above.

When tempests come, we dance with the gale,

Learning to be flexible, to prevail.  

I think I understand what all the fighting was for,

And I’m not angry anymore.  

In the forest of my life, I now see clear,

The cycles of growth, the shedding of fear.

I honor the roots, the branches, the leaves,

And in my own way, I’ve learned to believe.  

No longer a sapling, I stand tall and free,

Embracing the wind, the rain, the sun’s decree.

I think I understand what all the fighting was for,

And I’m not angry anymore.