“Love”
The sky was deep purple and a thin mist floated over the freshly rained upon blades of grass. The wind whispered stories of sleepy nights and peaceful dreams. The leaves which blew along with the wind tapped me as they passed by as if to get my attention. I followed them to an old oak tree which stretched into the sky, far beyond my sight. I stared into the sky and the clouds parted ways as the moon took it's rightful place in the center. I sat amongst the nearby toadstools and imagined they were tiny houses of even tinier people. Suddenly a leaf fell from the great tree and landed upon my head. I laughed silently, within my head as it stumbled to the ground. Soon more followed in it's path and made their way to the city of toadstools until the city was gone, covered in a mountain of golden brown leaves. From within these leaves I saw two eyes, red and full of hatred. The sky turned a pitch black and the wind became strong and cold whipping itself across my face. The feeling of total isolation overcame me and the tree began to decay, melting away like ice cream on a hot summer’s day and from it formed an ocean of dark water which I was surrounded in, drowning. My breath was held and my heart rate increased. I swam up and up but there was no end. I had almost given up when I realized I was not in water but rather floating amongst an empty void. Stars came into vision all around me and whales swam along side me singing their song of tranquility. I understood their song but not the words. The emotions they expelled with each call sank into my soul and from them I saw a vision. They called that place Earth. Much like this world things are constantly changing though it is not nearly as clear. Somedays it is dark and cold while others it is bright and warm. Confusion and pain take their toll, it is simply the cost of love and compassion. To love it to hate and to care is to be hurt but without these things life is pointless. Isolation only engulfed those full of fear.
The poem opens up with a very dream-like environment filled with curiosity and wonder, much like the feeling you get when you have interest in or have just entered a new relationship. The leaves blowing in the wind pull the narrator towards the relationship. In this moment the leaves represent the boy asking her out and her following them is a yes. They lead her to a large old oak tree, its age and size are symbolic for her hopes for the relationship which become much larger when she actually thinks about them, as most do when they first enter a relationship, thus the clouds parting ways and showing how tall the tree (her hopes) truly are. She sits down next to the toadstools and imagines them as a village filled with tiny people, this village is her safe place. It's her comfort in the relationship. It's all well and good up to this point however eventually a leaf falls from the tree, representing an argument, which she laughs away afterwards, no big deal. Over time however more and more fall until the village (her safe place and comfort) is completely gone and the red eyes of hatred appear symbolizing the end of the relationship. The tree (her hopes) melts away and surrounds her in a sea of despair and confusion and throws her into a depression from which she eventually awakens, finding herself amongst the sky, amongst the whales and their songs. Amongst understanding and acceptance.
