Beneath the trunk, the roots held fast They carried the tree through weather and years

They worked in silence deep below the reach of wind and sun

Age changed the ground The soil grew thin What was once hidden
rose into view

The roots that had protected the tree were no longer sheltered

They lay exposed marked by time and strain

Still they remained Still they reached Even with less earth around them
even with less to hold them They had given everything

and now they showed it bare, enduring, honest moving toward the way