I wrote this poem at a time when it felt like I needed a good talking to and so did everyone around me. I was at a very lonely place, and I just had this moment where I thought about if the trees talked back to me, what would they say? Around me, it seemed like friends that I always felt stable where falling a part. It felt like everyone was a little bit lost. I randomly shared it with a few of those close friends and more than one friend wrote back, ‘this is just what I needed to day.’ In the world of poetry, this poem I feel like exists to just hold people’s hands when they need a little reminder that there is beauty and purpose in this crazy world.
Conversation With An Oak
I sat beneath a leafless tree feeling lonely
and it told me you are in deep need of yourself.
I asked the tree about letting go
and she smiled at all the leaves around her
and said, “It’s hard all winter I wait unsure if they will return.
Every fall, I think, “This could be my last.”
It’s hard to keep going when you’re not sure what you’re waiting for will come to exist.
Be still, listen to the weather around you, thank the universe for all it’s given you,
and remember cruel situations are sometimes grace’s way of seeing
how ready you are to bloom.
I never grew a leaf until
I learned to fall in love with my solitude.
Each year, I do it again
and the leaves find me in my surroundings.
I deserve that.
I wouldn’t be lost without them.
Losing them every year was how I became myself.
Loss is just a part of our identity,
liberation sometimes.
If I wasn’t supposed to be here, I wouldn’t be.
So I remain rooted in the ground
unable to move
for if I am not enough for myself right here,
than I will never be enough for anyone anywhere.
The earth knows how to use me,
and I trust her.
She will do the same for you,
but you must believe in her plan.
The only way to do trust her is to stay calm and understand,
you are grounded in your roots for a reason. Yes,
someday you will see the plan.
Oak Roads: Poetry and Musings 