The Life of a Tree

I started as a tiny seed
Planted in the earth
With time and trust and patience
A bud was given birth
As I was fed and nurtured
My roots began to grow
Impatient though I was
My growth was planned and slow
How I wanted to be taller
How I longed to see much more
Than my bounded narrow view
Of the things I'd seen before
Over time I grew
My branches formed and stretched
Against the endless sky
My silhouette was etched
I could see the macrocosm
That I failed to view before
I had longing in my leaves
And desire in each pore
My branches filled with greenery
My spirit filled with zest
I watched the world in awe
As summer formed its nest
The moments were eternal
I was present in each day
Then something slowly changed
And my greenness went away
I invited autumn's brilliance
But was unsure of the change
My colors turned to red and orange
The hues felt slightly strange
I watched in hesitation
But outwardly I shone
In my new found colored blaze
That I maintained as my own
I clung to this approval
But my leaves fell from each limb
I was fearful of the starkness
And let my brilliance dim
The air grew crisp and biting
I became completely bare
My heart was cloaked in sorrow
From winter's icy glare
I watched, each day in silence
As my world was masked with ice
I felt alone and broken
Ensnared by frost's device
I stood dormant in my pain
Unsure from what it stemmed
All could see my brokenness
A life, once full, condemned
I adjusted to the silence
And accepted life's decree
But then the air grew warmer
With hints of what could be
My heart began to thaw
And my branches followed suit
I heard a distant song
That had earlier been mute
A song of hope and promise
In voices sweet and pure
That chirped of faith in darkness
And spoke of winter's cure
The earth, once white, was colored
In every different shade
And spring emerged the victor
Of winter's long tirade
I sit here now in springtime
In hope to be reborn
I watch and wait and listen
In the stillness of each morn
I take comfort in the silence
But I smile in the song
Although I did not hear it
It had been there all along
And so, my buds are forming
My branches green once more
I am a tree now wiser
And different than before
My life will not be springtime
Nor summer, winter, fall
But a melody of being
A blending of them all
-C. O'Connell-