Roots

Strong and old is the crest,

Lushly splayed out,

The outlay of its efforts vast,

Lavish, full of life

Inviting a rug rat to climb,

Musicality to the ears of chirpy chatty visitors

That frequent, nature kept abreast of any changes

New developments

New players

Or new layers,

Listening with an ear to the ground

In the absence of an axe to grind

The world, watches as life unwinds,

A walker in a park along any path with trees

Knows what this is about, family—

From the bottom up,

The lightest sprinkle of earthen ash,

A mother, a father, gone in a flash

Touches the soul forever

As dirt under dirt,

Inner beings pull down like a lever

Lifting our hearts, growing this tree of ancestry

Alive in us always, forever

A part of this world,

As are we,

For our neighbors, our friends,

Our descendants to see.