with everything that's happened
i hold this still to be true
i am like a tree
steady and strong
vulnerable and sad in the winter
my imperfections exposed
i drink too much coffee
i drink too much wine
i shiver and shake and let the wind push me around
and when the sun comes out
there's a strength that shines down on me
so that i can bloom and give and thrive
and you would never know the pain i've suffered
even if you chop me down
every bit of me has life and purpose
you can use me to mold and create
i will not cry, i will not mourn my own demise
for i have not yet met any such thing
i am like the house the tree created
unwavering, immobile but without roots
overflowing with memory
overwhelmed with nostalgia
anyone under my roof has become my brother
everyone who sits at my table is my mother
the world grows and crumbles around me
and i slowly decay in my own time
silently strong, i let them decorate me
they carry my comfort as their own
and i smile as they use me to the bone
i am like the operating table
i am like the flower that opens to the moonlight
i am like the paper upon which they document their dreams
all of these things provide strength through the darkness
i cannot falter