Cycle Of Change

Our lives are a cycle of change, and this poem chronicles it beautifully.

One of the top 5 entries for December’s Muse of the Month writing theme, with the cue “It’s astonishing how we comment on change, as if change is something remarkable. On the contrary, not to change is unnatural, against nature.”  from Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence.

The young sapling grew branch by branch

Shoot by shoot and leaf by leaf

She was a teen before long

Impulsive to show the world

What she could do

She rustled and whistled

Singing the tune

Of the changing seasons

In the season of love, she fell in love

Oh that feeling!

She wanted to show the world her love

So she grew a million flowers

Coloured herself golden and red

Her love bore fruit too

She was now a mother

Warmth in her eyes and care in her heart

As she covered her fruit

With leaves and skin

And held it close to her

With strong hands

The young fruit matured in her loving care

And grew heavier

The tree was old, yet a mother

With a heavy heart, she told her child

You are grown up now

I would have to let you go

Remember though that my soul

Will always be with you

As a part of you will be with me

Farewell, she said

So saying, she let go

The fruit, at a loss first

Grew thin and pale and lost its skin

It grappled and grovelled in the soil

Feeling the brunt of seasons

But she was strong

Her mother had taught her so

One day, she found her ground

And dug her roots

Seasons later, when the mother was very old

She saw, her fruit was now a budding shoot

Right next to her

Having changed quietly with the seasons

Ready to show the change to the world

It was but natural that she should do so.

Pic credit: Image of trees via Shutterstock.