Two Trees

A wee love poem about growing together

I have been struggling to find an appropriate “palate cleanser” after my last two heavy posts. I don’t regret writing them — they are a crucial part of my story — but I have been feeling that vulnerability hangover, which I suppose means I am succeeding in my mission.

In any case, I wanted to find something more casual and upbeat to write to assure folks I am not just a self-centered bummer. But nothing feels casual or upbeat these days and so, I have been waiting for inspiration to strike.

Today, I opened my Google docs and this poem came out. I’m not a poet, by any stretch, and this may or may not even qualify as a poem. But here it is. It’s about love and marriage, inspired by the cross-pollinated avocado tree (two trees with different avocado types growing together) in our front yard.

Two Trees

From shouting in bars
To long silences in cars
You were my first love
The first place I felt safe
Enough to be me. 

You held all of my flaws
My fears and my scars
Tenderly, without judgment
Leaning into my mess
I was worth the trouble, you said.

Over time, we grew
Side by side with our love
Two tree trunks intertwining
Supporting each other’s ascent
Towards the sky.

Before our loved ones we said
I do, choose you
Every day and night
Come rain or shine
Our love so pure, so sure.

We had only known the shine
That glow of youthful naiveté
Carefree-ly cavorting
Unaware of true trial
Such a gift, that we’d lose.

When the world got sick
And our world shrank to two
We added number three
A four-legged trial run
Of the bounds of our love.

Our love expanded
We passed the test.
But also we were tested
As our two trunks inched apart
To make room for a new branch.

Then the true test:
A bite-sized version of us both
Just a seed at first
Then a sapling
Now, her own tiny tree.

This new life grows between us
Forcing our trunks to diverge
To make space for her
To flourish and thrive
At once a part of us and not.

What will happen to the two trees
When the little one breaks free?
Can they stay upright
Entwined at the base
While estranged at their tops?

Or will they topple apart
Top heavy with independence
Landing on separate earth
Both broken down the middle
In search of fresh soil?

Perhaps there’s another way
For two trees to stay together
While a third snakes up its center.
New branches must emerge
Reach out, and hold on.

The thing about trees is
They are resilient.
They can withstand bad weather
If their roots are strong, their wood flexible
And they are willing to keep growing.