Cherry blossom tree.

You blossom in the spring.

You’re pretty and pink.

You open up like a heart,

once so closed off

now flourishing and divine.

The purest thing I’ve ever seen.

Winter comes around,

the harsh time of the year.

Your flora falls to the floor.

You become dormant once again.

The darkest time is back.

Deep underground, there are your roots,

staying sheltered from the blistering cold.

Each part of you falls.

It seems like a lost cause to save each one.

Your beauty is gone as you lay bare.

You're just another tree,

trying to live through winter.

Though, it is only preparation for new growth.

But what’s this growth for?

To become stronger?

To come back prettier than ever?

Or is it simply for your own survival?

Your beloved spring comes back.

You can show off how you’ve changed.

Though no one notices,

they only see your beauty.

That’s all you’re known for after all,

never for how your petals have changed.

Are your petals what you thought they were?

Are they a blessing or a curse?

No one will be able to see what you went through.

They were only glimpses, of course.

Will anyone ever truly stop to look your way,

to try to see how you’ve grown?

Other plants can express their struggles.

But you? You just can’t.

You have gone through many journeys.

Each one has changed you ever so slightly.

You have new buds that will blossom,

always so different yet so similar.

No one may ever be able to tell them apart,

but you can feel it deep down in your roots.

Someone will always know, that as yourself,

living to the fullest is all that truly matters.