Cotyledon

Cotyledon, I push forth

through the damp earth, reaching

for the humidity and heat

beckoning me from my shell

Gemini, made of stem and leaf,

champion of wishful thinking-

--what comes next?

I knew that I would be a tree

mighty oak, reaching for the stars

with reckless abandon

But back then, the heavens were

too far, and the tiny hands

of tiny creatures came and tore

me at the root, smashed my leaves

between jagged, yellow teeth

I thought surely, I will never stretch

toward the sky again

But those tiny hands and jagged teeth

did not touch the parts that sat firmly

in the earth, more deeply than greedy hands

would think to look

From my roots, I sprout again

Cotyledon, I push through

the familiar earth, unafraid, prepared

Never meant for a shell