April 20, 2021 at 6:50 p.m.
Seedling floats on one wing
exhilarating in the freedom of flight
fear of leaving mother
gently touches the ground
new perspective,
seeing how tall and stately is mother
child finds me, l am lifted up to the sky
only to fly down again to my girl
over and over, touching the sky
With a thrill and sense of joy
Betrayal, fear, tears (if I had them)
my girl places me in a hole in the ground
and covers me with moist, warm earth
Oh, the darkness
Why have I been abandoned to
this shallow grave
Ooooh, pain, my body is breaking open
left behind is my wing, my possibility of flight — gone
what is happening, I feel green
what I was has left me
I am seed no more
now I am pushing, moving upward
the pain is gone, I feel excited, rising
I awaken to light, bright sunny light and warmth
my earthen grave now holds my delicate roots
I am free once again, not flighty free
Rooted free
I see mother tree, she waves her lofty branches
and behold, I see my girl
she is as excited as I am and speaks gently to me
encouraging me to reach upward
each day she comes with water that
soothes the growing pains
she builds a small wire fence around me
so no harm will come to me from the dangers of “above ground”
I have a new name, Sapling I am called
that will be my name for many years to come
and then, like mother,
I will be called Tree.
Sister Diane Schoff is a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet and lives at St. Joseph’s Provincial House in Latham. She wrote this poem last year after recalling planting a sapling in the yard of her family home in Rome, N.Y. After over 50 years, the tree has become a beautiful, large maple tree.
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