Life Cycle of a Tree

Life Cycle of a Tree - Belen Rivera (A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Eleventh Grade)

Spring:

Your name threatens to spill off the tongue,

A dewdrop rolling down the spine of a leaf.

Lungs expand, leafing out,

And roots grow warm

With groundwater rushing through soft trunk like blood in veins,

When the breeze of your name runs through rustling brush.

Summer:

Sparse blades of grass undulate with the gentle wind,

Murmuring below us.

Whistling, whispering trees clog the view of you.

Autumn:

With the thin tips of paralyzed branches,

I can almost reach you,

But I can only brush a sliver of gold sunlight,

Not as warm as your touch.

Winter:

Wilting, wincing by the sting of silver shards

I look up to you,

Towering in body and firm-backed,

A spectacle of simple oak.

I quiver in the white

And you stand proud

Against the wind that shakes your leaves;

I weep your name.