The branches are celebrated
For their food and their fruit
Photosynthesis their gift
But they’d be nothing without the root
The branches produce leaves
Providing shade from its shoot
Scented flowers also sprout
But nothing grows without the root
The branches spread wide
Giving the world a salute
On behalf of the noble trunk
But all respect to the root
The branches of one tree
An apple everyone’s pursuit
Promised knowledge or life
But both were buried in its root
Our family tree had few branches
Adorned with vines we’d recruit
Yet when grandma passed
The tree splintered without its root
I took this photo at the first stop we made on our Alaskan cruise. The root system of the tree spoke to me. Later that year, I found a poetry prompt that said to write a poem inspired by the phrase “Tree of Life.” This poem sprouted from that prompt and was inspired by this picture.
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