The Tree
A collection of thoughts
By Kita Liosatos
I am the tree.
The roots are my family.
Through support and sustenance they give me strength.
The trunk is my soul.
The bark shields me from the pain.
The leaves are the community.
They provide for me and shelter me.
As a tree full of life I grow strong.
I grow taller than the others, and reach for the sky.
Through the united wisdom of the forest another is seen.
Overshadowed by the others, she is unnoticed.
Her trunk is warped, her leaves gone, her bark disfigured by a blight. The tree will not survive.
But I can help.
My leaves fall around the tree, and provide nourishment to the soil.
My bark falls and is caught by the branches.
I lay myself bare to the elements, but I stand strong.
I take the pain, and through it, I become stronger.
Summer ends, with a tree strong and resolute.
Both of us are stronger.
Both of us are survivors.
But with the winter came death.
The snows fell and froze her, the frost covered her limbs.
Spring laid bare to empty remains, and with the storms her hollow body fell.
I grieved for her loss, when all my efforts seemed true…
I nearly missed the saplings her remains were protecting.
Kita wrote this poem about Cancer during a Physics class (as you do!!). Her teacher caught sight of it and invited to read it at the opening ceremony for the Relay for life a couple of weeks later. Many were brought to tears as they listened to the words. She then was asked to read it as the tree was planted and a plaque with some of the words will now be laid to rest at its base.
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