Shades

By Gerardo Hernandez

We came from the same soil.
It was okay to be ingrained with each other.
I was made to believe
we were all trees striving for greater heights.
No one was different
until time taught us of our different colors.
Our leaves became our form of identity
and the pigment created preferences.
Browner leaves were crushed into the ground
in hopes of a better life
while the greener ones continued to flourish.

As trees, our purpose for providing
and sustaining life
was unfortunately forgotten.
Now, one by one,
we are brought down.
Our lives are being taken for granted.
Serving a purpose
and being disposed of
was not supposed to be part of our growth.
Many forget
we provided our shadows
developing silhouettes of great figures
and deserved courtesy for it.
Until then,
amongst us trees,
it’s all love
from one shade to another.