Where I'm From

I am from Salix babylonica
the weeping willow
The ethereal tree that nurtured my childhood
reached for me with its limbs
wispy yet colossal
taught me how to grow

I am from lawn ornaments
from their fiberglass and cement foundations
Statues amazingly large in size
welcomed in by the willow
to stand proudly on the front lawn
while the humble willow stands
somewhat disparaged
in the back yard

I am from Picea pungens, Pinus strobus, and Abies fraseri
blue spruce, white pine, and fraser fir
From the branches
of my various tree-selling relatives that sold them
From the seeds planted
on all of their farms
waiting for them to blossom
forming amazing young trees
and strong, beautiful children
to someday plant seeds of their own

Since loving me
it has been cut down
But in my mind
the willow burgeons
Spreading its wonderful blossoms of love
throughout the needy world

In the end
When all else dies
I am still from the willow