The Unbreakable
There is a Tree that stands in New York City.
It’s a pear tree more than 40 years old.
It was one of many planted and placed in the outdoor space to beautify the grounds of where two very tall twin skyscrapers once stood.
It basked in daylight and stretched its arms up to the sky as its leafy coat provided cooling shade for business people seeking a little fresh air away from the daily grind.
And then something happened.
Those two twin skyscrapers were on fire, disintegrated and became ash. The ground was littered with crumpled debris, twisted metal, and the screams of terror.
When the fog cleared, the Tree’s leafy coat was ravaged, its arms broken and weak. Yet a midst this annihilation, it was still standing.
It was a Survivor.
The Tree was rescued, nurtured and loved.
Once again it was placed on the grounds of where those twin skyscrapers once stood.
In the bright glow of daylight, it’s arms, new extensions of rebirth, remembered what to do. They stretched up high, high above onlookers below.
The Tree, it blossomed and cultivated an abundant new leafy coat, offering shade to new guests seeking refuge.
It became a symbol of what the brilliance of Springtime is all about.
I touched that tree once.
It amazed me, inspired me and lifted my spirits.
For in all that it had endured, it never lost the desire to reach for the sky. Through loss, grief, devastation, wind, storm, and a nightmare of fire and fog, it lived on.
There is something about Spring that encourages this inner desire to “live on.”
This does not mean to simply endure one’s course but to charge forward, breathe, gaze, experience, ponder, savour.
To touch that Tree made me yearn for that inner strength always to forge boldly on, with an excited creative energy swirling within.
To know and understand how precious life is, to appreciate new growth, to witness glory, to value enduring courage, to hold to the sacredness of an unbreakable spirit, is what that Tree demonstrated.
To allow that spirit to physically stop you to take in beauty, sunlight and happiness, is to Live.
I learned a great deal that day standing before that majestic Tree as I treasured its branches and greenery. It awakened a drive in me that I continually feel.
May you find strength and excitement, energy and creativity in the Spring ahead.
Paula Antonello Moore, Thoughts. Copyright: Monday, March 30, 2015
For more information visit: The Survivor Tree
Nicely expressed, Paula
Thanks so much Laurie.
What a beautiful, reflective and insightful poem. B.
Thank you for that.