ROOTS
©April 4th, 2014
By Vijaya Sundaram
I was in a fruitish mood today.
Brutish and fruitish.
But now, in the still afternoon,
I feel rootish too.
As in, I want potatoes
And carrots and beets
And turnips
And other rootish things.
I want to eat ROOTS!
Roots! The fundamentals,
The basic, the beginning
The origin, the start,
The building blocks.
From the roots, the shoots,
From the shoots, the leaves
From the leaves, the flowers,
From the flowers, the fruits,
From the fruits, the seeds,
And from the seeds,
The ROOTS!
That’s where I wish to be.
Buried deep in soil.
Warm, cozy, at ease with worms
Curled tightly against the cold
Protected from frost and
Protected from callous disregard.
If I were close to the earth,
I should not care
I would not worry
I would rest easy,
Knowing my turn will come.
But once you’re above-ground
You’re easy prey.
Birds, bees, moles, well,
Actually people, seek you out.
You put on a show of greenness
Of flowers and grace
You dance in the vagrant breeze
You give of yourself.
You bend to the will of others.
You forfeit yourself.
You scatter your seed
And you sleep.
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