In the deep earth, where dark meets light,
Old roots whisper to the stars,
“We are the keepers of ancestral might,
The essence of who you are.”
Gnarled and worn, with tendrils deep,
These roots have stories to tell,
Of generations that laugh and weep,
In each root’s textured cell.
Climbing higher, we find the trunk,
The spine of familial days.
Imprinted with every joy and funk,
The cornerstone in many ways.
Boughs of parents stretch outward, wide,
With fruits of lessons taught.
A sanctuary where love can’t hide,
The battlefields of lessons fought.
Siblings, branches, sprouting left and right,
A chaotic dance in the sky.
Rivals and allies in the day and night,
Learning to reach for the heavens high.
Leaves of the young, a vibrant hue,
New sprouts on an ancient tree.
Each one fresh, each one new,
Asking what they’re meant to be.
And so we are, from old to young,
A tree of life, intricate and grand.
With roots and leaves, and songs unsung,
We’re united, a familial band.
About This Poem: From the Old Roots to the New Leaves
I wrote this poem to picture a whole family as one tree, from the old roots to the new leaves. The ancestors are the roots in the deep earth, holding the stories of the generations before us. The trunk carries the everyday life of a family. Parents are the wide boughs, brothers and sisters are the branches reaching every which way, and the youngest children are the bright new leaves, still asking what they are meant to be.
The tree of life has been used as a symbol for a very long time. It is named in the books of Genesis and Revelation, Norse mythology tells of Yggdrasil, the world tree, and Celtic art is known for trees whose roots and branches are woven together. Today many people use it simply as a picture of family, growth and the way the generations are joined, and that is the meaning I had in mind here.
Where to Find the Design
The title of this poem is also the message on one of my Tree of Life posters, which shows a golden tree with a heart at its center. You can see it on the We Are All a Part of the Tree of Life Poster page. For more about what the symbol means to me, read From Old Roots to New Leaves: What the Tree of Life Means to Me.
A few questions you might like to think about after reading:
- Who are the old roots in your family, and what stories have they passed down?
- Which branch do you see yourself on today?
- What would you like the new leaves in your family to know about where they came from?