The Small Seed

 The Small Seed

-Ishana Ghosh

The small seed that fits in the fist,

they plant it in good soil,

waiting for it to send forth

a whole new shoot tip

that'll burst through the earth

and bring smile onto their faces,

a smile that rings of joy

but also of hope, that it'll turn out

a good plant, just as they planned.

So, they never forget to water it,

every single day the sun rises,

they never want to let it out of sight.

And so, a day comes

when the shoot tip sees light for the first time,

and those planters erupt in joy,

'Oh finally! Our hard work has paid off.

Oh! Finally it is time.'

So that small thing grows little by little,

the first leaf, and then the second,

learning with each step forward

about the world and its exuberance

finding its way, upward and onward.

They feel utter joy,

as witness to its growth,

and the little plant feels safe,

under their love and their care.

And then, suddenly

the little plant is no more 'little',

it is no more fragile,

and weak and incapable.

So, came out those sharp scissors

and its shape was made into something

that the planters had planned,

something that the little 'heart' in the plant

had never known.

The bush was trimmed,

the branches were cut down

and the thirst for bright flowers

was increased tenfold.

The freedom to cut its own way

through the air, was snatched away

and sure, they still watered it,

tried their best to keep the pests away

and admired it as it grew,

but true enough, with all that, came

chemicals and stuff, that were meant

to get flowers and fruits, anew.

Nobody cared if it was too much

for the plants anymore,

for it had grown up into this tree,

that looked so tough on the outside;

surely, it could endure this easily.

And who'd care to peek inside, and see

the broken heart of the tree,

which knew not to value its own worth,

which waited patiently for its own doom.

And just like that, another life,

another bucket of hope and innocence

was crushed underneath the huge

mountain, and the preacher who sat on top,

dictating the ways of the world.

___________