The Corkscrew Tree

Seedlings by coincidence planted in the same soil

Take root together, grow together

Breathe the same air, feel the same sun and rain

Hear the same

Give strenght to each other, support and reach for

the skies in unison,

entwined in their embrace.

One without the other: unthinkable.

This is how I thought of us.

Then, the tragedy struck.

Like lightning that felled the tree

You were gone.

The traumatized tree now breathes alone, feels

and hears

without its mate.

How does it do it?

Do trees cry?

I know I do.

The corkscrew tree now stands alone –

One clearly can see where its mate used to be,

Where its mate left its mark.

And, like the corkscrew tree, if you look at me

You see

That something is missing in me

I still breathe, feel and hear

I still am

Even without you.