My Chinaberry Tree

Painting by Aalia Dhuka

scrawny sapling to skinny legs

we were mirrored in our youth

when outside felt like everything

leaf buds to fingertips

we reached toward the sun

growing as fast as we could

twisting branches to quick feet

i danced around your base

as you swayed in the wind

our roots growing stronger each day

sturdy wood to muscled arms

i was proud of your thick trunk

wider than my palm now

we were filling ourselves out

frozen leaves to numb toes

your branches bowed to the ground

and my skin turned blue in the cold

but we thawed in the sun

wilting canopy to tear-streaked cheeks

your shade was dwindling

choked out by a parasite

i thought we were invincible

severed stump to soil smudged knees

i look up to where you’ve always been

to find nothing

a gap nobody else sees

overgrown weeds to shaggy bangs

new life has filled in your place

mine has taken me away

but i see the silhouette of where you stood

where the sky is empty 

like when we were small.