The Tree by Afrah

Did you too see it, swaying, all day, in the wind?

Did you observe it in the moonlight, its trunk rooted into the dry dirt—

A natural, unnatural chaos,

A blossoming array of buds and decaying leaves as it stood,

Into the chains of its ivy; a blanket, a cover, 

Choking the oxygen from its life?

Did you hear it, begging and whispering,

A call for help—like the sound of sorrow—like a deathbed

Asking what it did to you to deserve this?

And did you spot it, finally, the last branch—

A white remnant of a flower, its color

Draining like a soul sucked, the green vines creeping up to grab it?

And did you feel it, in your heart, how could you help?

And have you too finally figured out the empathy you carry?

And how do you choose to embed it into your life?