The Straightening Post.

Every good farmer knows,
that when saplings sprout, there comes a point
where gravity takes a toll, and top-heavy
trees bow low to the ground before maturity.
To prevent this, the good farmer
lashes the trunk to a sturdy post with twine.

Sometimes, the tree
as an adolescent stage, begins to resist
and gravity persists, to drag it down
low, low, parallel to the ground.
Sometimes, the leaves
may in all of their power
strain, and push and pull
away from the twine,
that suffocate like vines
for a while,  and sometimes,
they succeed.
What we get,  then, are  "bad apples"
that don't roll far from the tree.

Reviews

[Honeypot]

Ah, it makes me wonder if you are the parents of a teenager? It made me think of some of those experiences as a parents. I thought you did a good job on the poem.