Was once a time when we were young,
Our starts were quick, our limbs grew strong.
We hung together filled with glee,
Flexing bough with gust or breeze.
Sheltered safe from ocean’s roar,
We dwelt far from its shore.

And then one day out from the sky,
From whence it came the ocean’s cry.
The breeze grew gust and gust grew strong,
From gentle breeze to thund’rous roar,
Caught off guard our branches soared.

Soared and stretched
and ripped and retched,
Snapped and torn and yanked from ground,
Some carried away, never to be found.

We tried to keep our footing firm,
Desperation, terror churned.
Our roots clenched tight with every turn.

Huddled with our branches tight,

We clung to each other for dear life.

Then suddenly quiet, it was gone,
Swift it came and it moved on.

And in that instant we were changed,
Youth was stripped, innocence ravaged.

Destruction looming large surround,
Our hearts were crushed, pieces on the ground.

But we rose proud, starting small
And once again we grew tall.
Most of us grew scarred and bent.
A few of us grew quite grotesque.

And those that clung with locked embrace
Grew woven, as wounds would not erase.

Thirty years have come and gone,
Remnants borne from that great storm.

But God in His great grace adorns
our scars, and places some would see
are hid by seasons’ finery.

And winter bears a rarity,

For now we do curve gracefully!

This is my contribution to the Weekly Photo Challenge with the theme of Forces of Nature.  The forces of nature surround us. They can inspire or they can devastate. But always there is purpose, re-creation, re-growth.

Look at these trees that endured a horrific storm. What about the storms in our lives? Surrounded with so many vivid reminders to—stay the storm, stand together, lean on one another, hold one another—why is it so hard for us?

These trees and other forces of nature find a means of survival through one another, and by it, find healing. Should we do any less?

Peace,
Alexandria