If a Tree Falls in a Forest

If a tree falls in the forest, but no one is around to hear it, did it make a noise?

Are you assuming that the tree’s worth is based on those who surround it?

That it plays an insignificant role if there is no one there to appreciate it?

Are you telling me that the movement, the life of this tree only exists when others are there to notice?

That if the tree is not known by others that it simply doesn’t exist?

Let me tell you this, I am that tree

I want to stand tall, firm, my roots dug deep into the mud

I want to wrap my limbs around life and learn to live

I exist because I know that I exist, I find purpose in myself

My trust may be splintered and cracked

but I have learned how to be flexible in hard hurting,

And dance gracefully, freely in the wind, the tips of my fingers stroking invisible power

I grow back, I grow stronger and my bark becomes harder

I may stand alone or in a crowd but my significance is not dependent on who sees me

It is dependent on what I see, on the beauty in this world,

Flavours of passion seep into my roots and I absorb the sunlight on my many faces

It is the personalities, the cultures and the places, it is the love and untamed excitement

I can contribute to this earth but nevertheless it does not build and deny my worth.

Because I am simply me and I choose to stand alone,

Alone I will be, but strong, intensely loving, and wildly free.