We Are All

By Cheryl Charles

In a lush green forest,
The mighty Oak stood proud, 
centuries carved in its grain, 
roots deep in the mouth of the earth, 
limbs raised like a hymn to the sky. 
It believed nothing could move it.
 
Then one day a hurricane raged, 
No warning, no mercy. 
The oak stood tall, so certain so grand.  
Unmoved where he stands. 
Moments passed - 
A thunderstroke,  
The mighty oak shattered,  
Betrayed by the strength he held long.  
 
The storm ravaged and tore through trees, 
While in the field below, 
the Grass flowed and swayed. 
So small, so low  
It moved with the flow.
And when the thunder lost its voice
The grass rose up  
humble, but alive.  

Yet far across another horizon,
A man rolled on his machine
With blades of steel
Stripped all the lawn underneath. 
And the steady, 
Soft grass was gone in a sweep. 

Then the man turned to a towering oak 
And struck it with all his force. 
Eventually the blades grew dull and the engines whined,
His efforts in vain,
Not a log in sight. 
 
It doesn’t matter who you are,
It doesn’t matter where you come from. 
Life does not care for titles.
It does not measure strength
in height, or noise, or permanence.
It bends you.
Breaks you.
Uproots you,
kneels you,
kneads you. 
Life happens to everyone, 
One season at a time. 

So be humble and be kind. 
Be steady and be strong. 
Remember,
We all bleed in battles 
We all break in pain. 
We all heal with love
We all bloom in rain 

We are all oak sometimes
Sometimes - grass.