The Secret Life of Roots Beneath a Tree

By Aishwarya Thakur

Beneath the ground, hidden from view,

The roots worked hard their whole life through.

They fed the tree, held it tight,

Through storms, through darkness, through every night.

The tree grew tall, its branches wide,

It reached for sun, it reached for sky.

It forgot the roots that held it near,

The ones who loved it, year by year.

It shouted, it broke, it went its way,

Not knowing it was slowly in decay.

The roots were the parents, patient and true,

The guide of the tree in all it would do.

But the child grew blind, proud, and fast,

Ignoring the hands that held it steadfast.

And in the end, the tree could see,

It cut its own roots, and lost the key.

The parents had guided, loved, and stayed,

But the child forgot, and its life decayed.

By Aishwarya Thakur