I am an oak tree
Rooted in the earth
Generation after generation
I have withstand the seasons of time!
I have seen joy
I have seen triumph
By all races and creeds
Animosity for neither
I felt the sunshine even the rain
Yet the most trying times
Yielded in the midst of so much suffering
A race, a people set apart from others, all because of the color of their skin
You see the branches of this oak exterior witnessed the lynching and death to mankind
A mankind set apart!
Enslaved I was too! Nothing I could say or do!
Tears of a mother as she embraced my exterior!
Whose children were sold out of her control
Her dignity taken against her will!
The sacrifices of one race that reared children who were not their own
Loving and caring people
Whose lives marks significance of our freedom today!
I seen your ancestors suffer, scream, grieve, laugh, and cry!
All while praying in the midst of it all!
Their faith unwavering!
So you can use my peak as shade, my branches to swing and play!
I am a oak tree
Heartbroken as I reflect upon the past
I’ve seen it all
Yet I am still standing so I can share with you’
Your life now… is not your doing
You are blessed because of what your ancestors endured!
Know your past and continue the legacy of change
I want to see the difference you will make…
So generations after you will flourish
Rooted in their history as a reflection of what it truly means to be free!
Grab hold of my branches
Lay in green fields, smell the flowers,
Playing until you’re tired is a privilege given to you by the patriarchs and matriarchs of your past!
If I could speak, the stories will never cease!
Their struggles alone blessed you and me!
I’m an oak tree rooted then and now
Waiting and watching through the seasons of life … making sure the legacy of being ‘free’ continues!!!!
Sent from my iPhone
Author Tricia Billington
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