sundered by the wind

Style: Poetry

Statement: In this piece, I aimed to illustrate how, throughout the course of the year, a tree remains in the same spot, while the flowers fall and return in the spring, personifying them as beings that share a bond. If they were to have a connection, how would the tree or flower react to the inevitable passage of time? Using a motif that illustrates how the two elements interact under different colored skies, I intended to convey how the tone of the environment changes over time – from a cheerful blossoming with company to a quiet stillness on one’s own. Additionally, though parallelism of the wind in the beginning of the poem to the end, I focused on how, despite being in the same space, one’s environment is both kind and harmful.

Ever since you bloomed, all you’ve done is flourish 

under these cerulean skies,

beautiful petals of yours encompassed by leaves of mine.

I can only reminisce about the time before you blossomed; 

now you’ve grown into a captivating scene of colors.

The wind, I too love,

its gentle breeze, its genial blow, and it takes us:

with it, we waltz

under these wisteria skies of sunset.

But the sun will grow cold,

and the wind shall grow cruel,

and your skin will become fragile.

A merciless day will sweep you away.

I reach for your fleeting gaze, 

but these roots betray me;

this field we once claimed whispers 

what I lost.

Futile efforts pass. 

Soon, I’ll be left with nothing,

just outreached branches and

the biting breath of 

September.

This arduous wind I abhor,

its violent gusts, its volatile directions, 

it took you. 

A desolate meadow without a melody,

I’ll wait patiently under these midnight skies of stars;

contesting the gale would be fruitless.

It won’t bring you back.

Day after day, month after month, you will return.

Are you still the same? 

Are these the same petals I knew before?

Am I still beautiful?