Sunday afternoon in the middle of August. Sun lounging high in the sky.

A cloudy menagerie decorates her home.

I walk down to the river

Hear the boats passing by

A roar of engines and water

Some louder than others

Feel the breeze ripple through my fingertips as I guide it on by.

And the people

The people pass idly by

Some with their love

Some with their children laughing with joy

And some alone

Alone like you and I

I find a spot by the shore

On a pair of stone steps

Resting my thoughts against a tree.

“hello tree” I say not expecting a reply

“Hello” said the tree with a voice like the wind and the rain

“I want to be rooted” I say, “I want to be rooted to the earth, rooted in one place, like you tree” “I want my love to be rooted beside me, beside my heart, our veins intertwined in the soil, like you tree”

“I see” said the tree, “and what if you want to see the world? What if your love wants to show it to you? What then?” Said the tree.

“Then I will burn” I say, “I will burn til my leaves become dust and my dust blows in the wind and the wind carries my dust across the breeze, across the globe, until we see the world”

“And what then?” Said the tree? “You cannot grow from dust, you can not take root from ash, you need a seed to grow. A piece you leave behind to learn to live again to love again and what if your love does not want to stay? What then?”

“Then I will have no reason to grow again, tree, I am too old now, my branches too heavy, my bark all scratched and worn.”

“No on ever said you could not be human” said the tree.

“No one ever said you could not be you.

So be human, be you.

Make mistakes.

Let your heart get burned to dust and learn to love again.

Fly across the globe and make new roots.

Feel the wind in your hair, but don’t let it speak for you.

And if love wants to grow roots with you, let them

And if love wants to fly with you,

Fly with them

And if love tries to burn you,

Let them burn.

You are human.

You have so much life

So many adventures left to live

So much earth to feel beneath your feet.

Do not let weak branches and worn out bark define who you are

You are human.

You have skin of scars to remind you where you’ve been

You have windows to your soul

Lungs full of air

And blood is pumping through your veins

Be a human while you can.

Before the soil decides to bring you back home

Live.”

We sat in silence for a moment.

Thoughts danced in my head like fireflies

And finally I spoke.

“But what if I’m afraid?”

“Then be afraid” said the tree

“Fear, above all else

That is what makes you human.”

So I stood up.

I let my tears hit the soil allowing us both to grow

Breathed in and out to taste the oxygen on my tongue

Brushed the dirt and leaves off my legs

and felt my legs

My strong and sturdy legs like tree trunks, but not tree trunks

Saw my hands and bent each finger to watch them move

Like branches in the wind, but not branches.

Looked to the sky and felt the warmth of the sun on my face.

My pale and imperfect face.

“I am human”

I whispered to myself.

Human.

So watch me grow

Watch me fly across the globe

Watch me take root here and there

And anywhere my heart desires

Listen to the blood pumping in my veins

Feel the warmth on my skin

Watch me laugh a real laugh

Smile like it’s my last

And if I burn

If you make me burn

Don’t be surprised if you get scorched

Don’t be surprised if my fire consumes you

Consumes every memory of the past

And if I cry

Let the tears water the soil

See my eyes turn to the sun

And watch me grow

For when the dust has settled

And the ashes stop burning

I will only come back stronger.

Because I am not just human.

I am a poet.