Spines Like Trees: the Meaning of Up
I'm beginning to learn that sometimes
The strongest things in life are quiet...
My boyfriend is both-
He has a spine like an oak tree;
He knows how to sway with the wind,
Yet never lets himself be bent nor broken-
He always knows which way is up.
I, on the other hand, have a spine
That tends to bend- more like a
Young sapling under pressure than
anything Else; sometimes I just
Don't know which way is up-
When the hurricane gales come,
Relentless as the Jews marching
To make fall the walls of Jericho;-
When the rain pounds like feet;-
When the full weight of the wind
Presses down on my back like
It's curious to see how much
Pressure it'll take before
My vertebre disalign and I
Splinter apart in a shriek of
Cracking wood like the wall that
Finally came down...
I don't know how to figure out
Which direction is up anymore...
Sometimes, I am nothing more
Than a seedling still learning
How to find sunlight, or
At least something that shines
Bright enough to feel like hope-
My spine is nothing more than
A thin tendril of green trying
To learn what upright means...
On these days, my boyfriend is the
Pillar that shields me from the wind;
He doesn't ask what happened,
Just holds me close-
His hands are scarred like branches
That have seen too many storms,
But they are gentle enough
To feel like home; warm enough
To feel like sun-warmed earth,
So in his hands I am comfortable
Enough to be a seedling still
Learning which direction is up...
He teaches me that if I reach for God,
I will always know how to grow straight...
I'll know which way to reach because
It'll feel like reaching for warmth.
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