Remind you of anyone??

I have seen trees that stand straight and tall; the maple, the conker tree, a mighty oak. I remember as a kid my arms would only just fit around their trunks. Rain, strong winds--even stronger hurricane winds and they will not bow. Their branches may sway and creek but their trunks stand firm. Their roots run deep from years of growing down. And the older the tree-the thicker the trunk, the bigger the branches and the less they sway.

I have seen trees that stand straight and tall; the pines. Growing taller before their trunks grow rounder, it seems that they are in a race to touch the sky. When the winds and rain come they sway as if dancing to music in smooth and liquid motion. Their roots run shallow reaching out over the earth rather than down.

I have seen trees that twist and turn taking many diverging paths but always moving up; the willows. Never do they seem to take the straight path to the light but get there by twists and turns avoiding this fence or that other tree. They mold themselves to their environment and become a tangled and gnarled mass of life and when mature they look weathered and wise. Their roots run deep and true for when cut down by lightning or saw they sprout again and within a years time are adolescents beginning their twisted journey again. When the wind blows their branches dance but their trunks remain firm.

I have seen trees that seem lost amid these giants;the beech trees. They do not try to touch the sky but relish the light. Their bark is skin like thin and in various states of peeling. They are white and scarred with trunks that never seem to thicken and draping leaves that move when bidden by the wind. They often are frail when the wind blows too hard but shelter in the midst of the larger conifers and survive.

When I look at the world I see whether we weather this life by standing resolute in adversity, swaying with the change, adapting to the times or sheltering in another's' strength, each one of us is rooted with the same needs, shares the same desire to survive and ultimately we all are reaching for the light.