The power of emotions

A Tree's Story

Standing there, I watched, the people come a go.
Sometimes a sea or ocean but on most days a soft river's flow.
Dancing, I watched the petals scatter through the air, as if following a tune.
They'd fall to the floor or become part of the river, convinced by spirals painting everyone in their hue.

As the sun grew older, it soon became my friend.
I watched the children do so too as if it'd never end.
Like me they became wiser, learnt more and grew.
Unlike me, they never stayed. Every fleeting moment a picture frozen in time, until the river was too.

Snow swept streets made peace with me each time the sky turned grey.
I barely see the children now unless they join to play.
The river was like glass, a season frozen still.
Yet amongst the cold and snowmen, I knew they would melt against their will.

When the sun grew brighter and finally learnt to glow.
That same sea of people decided to join and flow.
No one seemed to notice me, no matter if I danced or sang.
If it weren't for one person I'd be invisible, seen by no one, yet sorrow it never brang.

But soon that same one person, like every season came to pass,
Her visits became less frequent. I feared each would be our last.
Yet this had happened all before, watching all this change.
With each year turned to decades, I'm all that stayed the same.

Yet even with this knowledge, I know I'm just as ephermal.
Each decade I'd watch the streets rust but only one thing stayed eternal.

Each person who walked by, no matter old or new.
Was living a life like mine - one that only grew.
For the one thing that stays the same in each pictured memory,
Is the fact that we all shared it, each one beneath my leaves.