It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Billion and millions of people surround you in every corner. Everyone wants something, needs something, will take something, redeem something, call for something. You don’t know their past, you couldn’t predict their future. Sown up in stitches and seething with hidden scars. Each mind carries the luggage of careless pain and the suffering of loss.
Trapped in the tower, you lurk somewhere deep inside. The water tells you nada, no you’re not going anywhere. Circumstance and devastation brought you to where you are. No matter how many fields of wheat you have, there is a cap on the sky. Iron bars can be felt without a metallic shimmer.
Like a creeping wine we reach towards the light, inching slowly but surely up the torso of the giants amongst us. We latch and gather strength with each leaf that is unfurled. The journey will be long and the light is so dim down here. Bird song and primates chatter in the unseen canopy to tell us that it might be real. Sliver by sliver columns of light penetrate through the gaps in the leaves and branches. The insurmountable summit beckons it’s clarity. We were lost in the dark under forest for too long to remember the heights of the bright light. Show your face to the cloudless sky and unleash all that you have kept down in your roots. It might be terrifying to be somewhere so unsure and without brush to burden you.
Stand up tall like an oak. Chain saws gnaw their bristling teeth are you base, biting bit by bit away from your stolid sap. Your head is in the clouds, your roots mixed with the mycorrhizal fungi. Yet, you remain exposed to those that cannot conceive of our grandeur. A commodity to be stripped down and carefully marketed. Your branches buckle, your leaves are shaken, your roots are unmoored.
You feel like you’re ready to break, when the storm begins to blow in. The bird song has come to a halt, the pounding sun is no where to be seen, a light mist conveniently coats every leaf. Rain is meant to quench my thirst. But, these winds will never be sated. They dare to toss back your appendages, strip you naked, and find your weaknesses. A torrent runs ruts around your roots and seeps into the unnourished soil. You see others crack in half as a lighting strike goes for the jugular. You’ll survive this one, as you’ve survived so many more before this. My rings hold my history and every wildfire.
Others will fall and perish, yet we maintain our composure. Bones and tree rings keep a record of every calamity that we faced. Some may be thinner and uneven, but recovery brings resilient growth. Shaped by these stories we seek our eventual release and redemption.
Despite the weariness, we stand tall and greet each day and each person with a grin. When beauty comes to grace your senses, you are ready to accept it with open arms. The mighty blows might whisper danger and apprehension. They’re there to keep you safe when all you have known is shanty shelter.
To find something greater, you must be exposed to the elements. Walk into the blaze of desire. Drench yourself in the depts of romance. Be frozen by stunning eyes and a sun set dress.
Love is a cocoon. You started as mere caterpillar, hungry and jovial, preparing for your transformation. Here you are exposed and poised against the entire world. But, the time comes and you began to produce your refuge. Strand by strand, you cobble together a place where you can grow and change.
In the arms of your chrysalises you ascend to your highest potential, that was only waiting to emerge. The pain, the misgivings, the illusions know they were never apart of you to began with. They are washed away in the vibrant cradle of love.
When you look into her eyes, feel her heart beat against your chest, the world becomes as small as a pupae.
There were no lines to recite, no signs posts to point the way, yet you found your way into this bed. You showed me that I was a butterfly. And when I shared my breathe with you, you reminded me that I always knew how to fly.