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Our lives are a cycle of change, and this winning entry for the Muse of the Month contest chronicles it beautifully.
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.
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