Little Branch - Poem Story

Little Branch - I am a lot like you

You started off as just a branch And I stuck you in a muddy puddle Every day I came to greet you And I danced, I danced around you

I’d sing you songs and I’d tickle you too And whisper things only you could hear Before leaving you, I would always make sure Fairies were there to keep you safe and warm

Tiny roots shot out from your feet And then you grew and you grew Faster than I thought you would A branch now with many arms That would reach for the sun And deep under the earth Your roots to be entwined

And now, your body becoming sturdy and tall And even though I can’t always be there every day To watch you grow between the rising and the setting I am still there with you, I grow with you, I am like you.

And I dance around you, and I dance around you And sing you songs, but now overcome by your beauty What grace befalls my eyes as you too now dance as I do!

Your branches which shoot out into hundreds of threads Strands of gold and green that bend and sway with the wind Your hanging tresses that move even in the slightest of breeze And leaves that laugh when the sweeping air tickles your calm

And I imagine all sort of things that ride in on the wind Like dreams, that you catch the best of in your garlands And then I carefully comb them out through my fingers And hold them to my heart to read their secret message

Other times you remind me of a fountain overflowing Or a canopy to hide under when I want to remain a secret And some days, you are sad, your leaves droop, and you weep I ask you, “Why do you weep Willow?” It is the name I call you. You never answer me, but I always know, you are a lot like me.

A couple times I cut off some of your branches To make things with them, or use them as twine I felt bad about it, but you never seemed to mind And you would grow back even more the next time

And I would try not to be selfish, and share you with friends Who would sometimes leave treasures for me to find under you Like feathers, and nests, blankets, books, or shoes to name a few

Wanting to be like you, I too let the wind inspire my movements And I sway, while standing still at the same time, strong and tall

I planted you in the muddy puddle with not even roots yet to grow Your beginning, the center ring inside of you, that began with love The ground under you in full support of the complex interweave, Your roots now nourished by with what once was only a puddle

I am a lot like you, this I know, and from this knowing I grow, just like you little branch, we grow together.

(photo credit: phillyorchards.org)