The Plunge

I jump up,
And position my bare feet on the rough plastic,
I bend forward and grab a hold of the platform,
My head is down, my muscles tense,
Time seems to stand still as I wait,
I don’t have long to wait, though,
Beep and I jump off,
For a few short seconds I am in the air,
Then my body slides into the water,
I stay under for a while beginning to kick,
As I break the surface, my arms come out too,
I begin to push the water by me,
It is warm against my bare skin,
But the temperature is far from my thoughts,
I am focused on one thing only,
And that is to push myself to the limit,
I continue on to the wall and again go under,
A few seconds later I’m back up going the way I had come,
Faster, faster, my arms and legs are pushing me,
The other wall is just within view,
One last surge of energy and my hands find it,
I stop with excitement looking around,
But two were already there waiting for me,
I look up and the others are excited, though,
So I turn towards the board,
My heart leaps as I realize why,
We did it, amazing, it had paid off,
I put up an arm and am pulled out,
As I walk away, I pull off my goggles and grab my towel,

The Tree

I stand at the base looking up,
Its magnificence towers above me,
The branches block out almost all light,
But a glow is still quite evident,
It stands alone, a symbol of the past,
Straight and tall, nature’s majesty,
Few still stand as tall as this amazing thing,
Humans have wreaked havoc on its kind,
I stand below a survivor,
A light from the past, a hope for the future,
What a shame there are not more,
We try to replace them, higher we build,
But these new creatures are cold,
Where is the life, the love, the soul?
Perfect lines and dark colors,
This is not a replacement, nothing is,
There is no life there, no feeling,
I look up, quite as alone as my friend,
I too stand alone in a world of increasing gray,
Few see my beauty or appreciate my life,
We are so similar and yet so different,
We have been forsaken, but still we cast our light,
The hope that few others will see,
That is all we can wish of this society,
How can we ask any more?
They have shot down our neighbors and burned our friends,
Though, how can we blame them?
That is what they have been taught,
Taught by those who long ago strayed from the path,
They left the path to find an easier way,
This they found, but the cost was great,
They gave it all up, everything that matters,
But still we stand upon the land, no matter how barren,
Surrounded by stumps, the tears dry in our eyes,
We have done what we can, and will continue on,
We may not last, but our legacy will live on forever,
With that, I walk from my friend to root elsewhere,
Some empty field still needs its tree…

Peace,
Justin