Exit in grace

By Vanaja Malathy

Warm weather of spring
buds of new growth 
pierce through my branches
million needles of painful pricks on my body
i silently deliver and nurture my new birth

i lose grip of my dear leaves
stand in shame naked and bare
they are heaped to their burial
autumn winds wipe dry my tears
i stand in detachment

winter winds blow start
snow sits heavily on my branches
i am soaked wet with cold
yet, I bear the burden silently
like a goddess of peace

The sun bursts open the cloudy skies
all the snow melts 
and with it my heart too 
my branches are skeletal again
in detachment i stand desolate

birds and bees
geckos and gliders
chipmunks and chameleons
with frequenting arboreal
i stay effortlessly rooted
youthfulness oozing out

come  Scorching sun
sultry gusts
dehydrated air
i wilt of heat stress 
but bear it silently
  
growing years add rings 
to my wry and dry stump
mercilessly cut, i collapse in a heap
glow in golden brightness in the fireplace
i accept the dignity of old age and death.

the ultimate source of strength and resilience
The embodiment of sacrifice is mother nature.

Winner of Spring Poetry, 25, by Academy of Heart and Mind, Vanaja Malathy was interviewed  in Author Talks of The Literary Yard. The Writers Journal, Dec 24, published her short fiction and  poetry.

Centre of Asia Pacific Initiatives ( CAPI ) published her short story and poetry in Anonymous Was A Woman and TMYS Review 2023, via Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

She published Navigating Nostalgia and Aditya Hrudayam, feel the pulse of cosmos, for Gen Z. Presently she is working on her third book.