We are like trees.
We must grow new leaves,
reach toward new directions,
if we are to keep growing at all.

But trees need care.
There are always enemies waiting some
creeping quietly through the soil,
seeking the roots from below
others attacking openly, head-on.

To survive, we need knowledge, strength,
and the wisdom to know which to use and when.

We are like trees in another way too.
Others come to us for shelter—
from the rain, from the heat of the sun.

So the tree must remain strong,
its trunk steady, its roots secure.
Yet the direction of the tree,
the way its leaves spread and catch the light,
depends on its branches—
how far they dare to stretch.

The branches are like us.
How far are we willing to reach?
And then, when the leaves begin to fall,
in the quiet of evening,
against the solitude of the night sky,
the outline of the branches appears.

Only then do we truly see the beauty—
and glimpse the shape of a tree that
once stood full and generous,
offering shelter to many.