By Zoe Norton
If I look at you for too long,
I forget that you grow from the ground up.
–
You are a mass of colour,
fluttering with the life
of a hundred, stalking magpies-
your sole population. You wonder why.
Magpies are attracted to things that shine,
and the sunlight through your leaves
paints you like a network of constellations,
dark clouds in front of the Northern Lights.
–
People could stare at you for hours
and see roaring lions
and antelopes darting through the grass
in your kaleidoscope of branches.
–
Do not worry,
for even when the icy winds collide
against your almost wilting bark,
and blow those daydreams to the ground-
in this moment, now,
you are strong and beautiful,
and you grow from the sky down.
Zoe Norton is 18 years old and is in their first year of studying English with Creative Writing. They have recently joined our editing team. Their writing blog, hosted on tumblr, can be found here.
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