roots
really big trees
connect to me
spiritually
you just look up at them and think
wow
this tree has been fighting
for decades
against all odds:
fire, hail, pollution, insects, animals, humans
and it has survived.
it was able to grow
and thrive
for longer than I have lived
times five.
and it will still do that
in the future
the other thing
about old trees
is their trunk.
you can spend hours and days
admiring a tree’s trunk,
how sturdy and strong it is;
the base of its life.
or the branches,
how they risk reaching out
away from the trunk’s protection to spread
towards the sky
and to shelter others.
or the leaves – such
fragile
little
green
parts
that are integral for
the tree’s survival
and despite the fact they fall off
every year, they
always
come back.
or the flowers
on some trees, and
how they extend above the earth
in a magnificent show
of color
and smell.
but the best part of trees are their
roots.
the roots are
invisible – only sometimes poking out
a little.
and they are stuck
under the earth
missing the sun and the wind
getting stepped on
and cut through.
but they are
the
most
important
part of a tree.
without the roots
the tree cannot stand
upright. It cannot
absorb nutrients or
expel waste.
the roots are home
to countless creatures
and are so vulnerable to attack
but they keep reaching down
and out
supporting the tree.
and the roots of a tree spread out
as far as the branches.
half of a tree.
the most important
half
stuck beneath sight,
but the tree
cannot
function without that half.
and people
are so similar to trees.
their public face:
leaves
trunk
branches
flowers
are very pretty.
or not.
and they take risks;
reaching out.
but then there is the
actual person:
feelings,
experiences,
whatever makes them
them.
all of that makes up their
roots.
sure, every once and a while
part peeks out
but mostly it remains hidden.
and all of that is
imperative
for the person to survive
(without the mind
and the soul
the body is just a shell)
but it is
sometimes stepped on
sometimes hurt
in its reach towards water and nutrients-
love and companionship-
and the tree
still
lives
on.
it survives.
and thrives
against all the odds.
it is a tree
it roots are just as
beautiful
as its stems.
it is a tree.
it is a human.
it is.