My pale pink buds appear,
Still wrapped in green velvet.
The raindrops caress each petal,
Turning fibers to silk,
A ball of luminescent gold appears,
Sifting its buttery rays over me.
I break through the clinging leaves that encircle me,
And climb, reaching my fragile hands to catch its beams.
The glow falls onto them,
filling me with life and light.
It moves, creeping along my mother’s branches
Transforming my brothers and sisters into golden stars.
Then it is gone,
The world grows dark,
An icy wind is trying to wrench me from my mother,
I have never felt chilled before,
I long for the close leaves that encircle my brothers still,
For the bark that covers my mother.
I am pressed to her rough brown arm,
It shakes as though it too is frightened,
Or perhaps just trembling from the cold.
Petals fall from the sky,
Alabaster and lustrous
Unlike I’ve ever seen.
They swirl about like the butterflies,
But these creatures tear me apart
Wanting to add me to their brilliance,
My mother clings to me then let’s go.
The tree moans,
I am swept away.
I swirl in the wild dance
Then fall into the soft calm carpet,
Of snow.