The Root Of

 The Root Of

The forest rebelled so they cut it down

Long ago

Not one solitary tree was left standing

They put away the ax, secure in the belief 

That no tree could could grow there

Years went by, a city was built

Surely no tree can defy gravel! 

The trees were written out of the story, 

Forgotten

The ax was safe, 

Nothing can grow here, it said

With a bitterness no one knew

The roots rebelled once more

At first they looked like annoying weeds

Who could see them for what they’d be? 

They’d become a myth

Had there ever been trees here? 

The root underground grew stronger

It kept growing

The ax became worried

The root must be uprooted

Taken out of the ground and destroyed

The root is not to be underestimated

Do so at your peril

The root took root with the people, who had

Too long been clinging to a decaying ax

Leaping joyfully they were grafted onto the root

Radical growth was born anew! 

Faster than the ax could cut, new trees sprung up

There are no trees! The ax yelled into the forest

The ax fought long and hard

It could not defeat the root

Years have now passed

We carry the root in us

It flows in our veins

We speak it

Breathe it

Live it

The struggle is real

The forest so much more

We’ll always have the ax

Yet take heart

Where one root waits underground

An entire forest is born

From one root to another

This, my friends, is the promise of the forest!