root & leaf

these leaves had roots once.

this sheaf was a forest

(or a tree)

and birds nested

in its branches,

squirrels cannoned

from limb to limb

with death-defying grace.

these pages were planted

once, tender saplings

guarded with care

by a shepherd

of the pines,

trained and trimmed

to grow straight

as an arrow

toward heaven,

that one day they

might be sacrificed

for our benefit.

and now these leaves

bear roots once more,

words planted in

imagination’s soil

to grow toward

every heart who dares

to turn the pages.

these pages hold seeds,

that perhaps one day

they may find their way

into fertile earth again,

and we may grow

straight and true

toward heaven.