Branches Poem by Brittany Devoe

You were born when you emerged from the dirt, your roots securing you to the ground.With a strong foundation to guide you and support you, you grow. The two trees that created you protect you from the elements of the world. They give you both sun and shade, water and nutrients. You would be nothing without them.As you grow, you see other trees in clusters all around you, each of them with varying levels of difference. Some are deep green pines, others monumental oaks. You stand thin and tall, your ivory bark soft and smooth. And then -
suddenly, unknowingly, surprisingly, out of nowhere, your roots are slashed. You didn't even know they could be. You are pulled from the ground by your leaves with what's left of your roots dangling in the air, aching from the break.The people who held the shears that cut you take you to another group of trees, far away from where you used to be. You're placed in a different environment, under the shade of different trees that look very different from you.You are moved again, and then, they say, "just one more time, the soil is much better here", and then to three different tree constellations before the final time you're ripped from the ground, breaking any roots you were able to build.