Wednesday, October 4, 2017

The Broken Branch

The Broken Branch
Once a month, the Central Texas Writer's Society meets at the Copperas Cove Library. We receive prompts to inspire creative writing... and so my creative writing has surged once again -- and here is the poem I recently wrote. We had a beautiful cool 70's day and I stepped out on my patio and once again got slightly irritated by the sight of the broken branch that is in the tree by my back patio. However, this time I wondered if there was a message for me here -- and it turned out there was.

The Broken Branch

You broke off last year
during a windy storm
but got caught in other branches
on the way down
never to hit the ground.
To the tree:

(To the tree)
Winter came and went
and with Spring
you grew more branches
and thousands of leaves
burst forth from your buds.

(To the branch)
Still, you linger.

(To the tree)
Summer has come and gone
and soon you will shed 
all your leaves
yet the broken branch will remain
to keep you company.

And so I ponder...
Past traumas seem like
broken branches.
Life always bursts forth
with new leaves
every season.
The broken branches
always remain.

I caught myself staring
at the broken branch
instead of the overall beauty
of the tree that you are.
I also caught myself staring
at the broken branches
of my past traumas
discounting the beauty
that is the rest of me.

FYI: I put a sticking note up on my bathroom mirror which says: Quit looking at the broken branch. 

I know you can relate... how many times you've looked in the mirror and zoned in on the hairs that are not in place, the blemish on your skin, the darkness under your eyes, the crease or wrinkle. Can you imagine how much better you could feel if you stopped focusing on the broken branch of you and appreciated the entire tree?

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