Trust Poem by Anuradha Bhattacharyya

A sapling waiting to be watered,
Brightening in sunshine,
Drooping under rain,
Is trust.
Sometimes the gift of a favour
Is expected to be returned
Only to renew the bond
Of trust.
Only on a return
A bigger gift is issued
Acknowledging expansion of the
Horizon of trust.
The water evaporates over a while.
So do
The clouds like severe sunshine
Gather,
Thunders clap about your ears
Until another dawn is near.
The rains trample the sapling
Dwindling the delicate thing
To dirt.
It needs manure,
Another kind of nurturing
This time.
A little secret is divulged
Under the upturned earth
Buried
To be preserved
For the sapling to grow
Fresh leaves, blossom forth
And face the sun.
If the secret is preserved,
It gains trust.
It does what it should do –
Nurtures the sapling
Bestowing
What strength it needs
To support a flower.
A pest scurries up the stem,
Clambers above the tip
And plunders the sap
That nourishes it.
We need to kill that pest
To be able to let
The delicate thing flower forth.
The conquest of sickening
Disturbances, prying
Ungentle obscenities
In a relationship,
Bolsters trust.
If you and I can tend a potted plant
Ever more dutifully,
Where can be the snag, the slip
In growing trust?