Willow

Awestruck and curious Willow

rubbed her dazzling eyes

with her small fists.

She saw the world change

at the hands of man.

Water: taken and secluded

in pipes.

She gracefully approached

the daunting, man-made monstrosity,

Looked down at her feet,

and fell through the slivers

of open air.

No stench or absence of light.

Instead, a pipe full of colorful voices

from an urban crowd.

In the sewer world:

Animals: fabricated, not created;

stone-cold and chiseled;

not warm and fuzzy.

Wise and experienced Tortoise

said to Willow,

“Listen, young girl: you mustn’t see

one or the other; instead,

see both at once.”

A deep howl and a tumultuous bark from Dog

opened a stairwell that led back home.

A new set of eyes,

young Willow found.

Home was stuck in

an everlasting hug with Tree.

“You were right,” she whispered.

And then she woke up.

Tears from the Sun

And the sparks

Trickled down

Like tears from

The sun.

For the damage was already done.

Bare branches,

Sickly spines

Bent over

From the aches

Of the axe.

Pale petals,

Brittle bones.

Stems bowing down

To the greed

Of the tyrant.

Empty eyes,

Muted mouths.

Longing to live

In that world

Once again --

Our landscapes

Glazed over

Like paint

On a wall.

A noxious

Fume:

The smoke that came

From the minds

Of those

Who were thinking

Too hard;

Those who

Saw their

Reflections in

The waves

Of the water;

Distorted

Perception.

Stewards, not

Tyrants,

Of the

Precious world --

They sat in

Their chairs

As the world

Fell apart.

And the sky,

And the ground,

And the air

And the water

Fell along

With it.

And the sparks

Trickled down

Like tears from

The sun.

Like the Sun

Like snow, you will fall.

Unwanted, bitter, cold.

A hazard, an obstacle.

A nuisance, annoying.

Like snow, you will fall.

But like the sun, you will rise.

A sign of a new beginning.

An array of soft colors.

A sliver of light at the break of dawn.

Like the sun, you will rise.

Like grass, you will be held down.

Stepped on and not appreciated.

Taken for granted.

Discarded carelessly.

Like grass, you will be held down.

But like the sun, you will soar.

Upon the throne of the sky.

Above everything.

Dancing across endless landscapes.

Like the sun, you will soar.

Like the precious air, you will be used.

Ignored, polluted.

Underrated.

Thrown around rashly.

Like the precious air, you will be used.

But like the sun, you will give.

Comfort, reassurance, warmth.

A promise of life.

A source of light.

Like the sun, you will give.

And like the sun, you will shine.

Full of pride.

Blinding, resplendent.

Burning with passion.

Astounding, breathtaking.

Magnificent in every sense of the word.

And like the sun, you will shine.