When I was young,
           I watched you fall
taking whole pieces of the Earth that loved you too.
                                                the wind had blown
                        so hard that summer.
In your absence,
I felt heartbreak
for the first time.
                        I felt the ground slip
               from beneath me
And I understood
                                                      ­      the tops of your branches
                                                        ­    were never meant to feel
                                                            ­       such solid things
But the next summer,
the wind was still
       and a small sapling
                                  grew in your place.

You taught me how to weather the storms
and to be thankful for every leaf
that provides shade for what is underneath,
                                    and you taught me winter:
                                    how to survive the darkest months
                                    and that I will bloom again in the spring.