Father

When I was only a creeper
Seeking some support to grow on
I had found this tree by my side
And firmly held its twisted branches

Often I had sworn in my mind
The roughness of its bark
That almost hurt me especially when I grew too fast
But it had prevented me from falling off


Then there were those storms, those tempests,
Ruthless in their fury
This tree had braved
While I clung on to its gnarled limbs and watched the fights

Bit by bit, I had grown bolder and stronger
Yet the tree would sometimes deride me
By calling me a creeper or a sprout
And that had piqued me to become a tree too


At last I did become a tree
And let go of the tree I had held on,
Though it still never let go of me
Standing by my side it still fights the storms

Its weathered arms I hear
Crashing down one by one
And as they roar for the last time
The winds shiver and retreat with fear


Yes, you can wither, wane, or weaken
But you are, forever, my father
A place where I can always lose myself
A place where I can always find myself

Rajan