“Between You and Me,” by Adrienne K. Tibbs
September 23, 2019
It’s the tree that fills me with serenity. the green that towers me with hope. the roots that surround me in the twists and turns of sound. those roots that have grown to help me find mine. the limbs that make me long for touch. the smell that brings me back to that safety. It’s that one god damn tree that brings me back to my center. that one tree that finds my composure. out in a desert that can no longer sustain its wealth. the one that’s dying because of so many palms. soon we must embalm. our time apart has been a too long break, that i don’t know how much more it can take. how far will its leaves fall to catch up to me? or will they ever fall? the tree that’s so far away now i’ve forgotten its coloring and it’s forgotten mine. though its splinters would always hurt but never fully destroy our skin. but god damn it’s my tree that fills me with serenity. it doesn’t get to pass without me seeing it again. it doesn’t get to leave me without letting me say…
Adrienne K. Tibbs wrote this poem while a 9th grader at Nathan Hale High School, with WITS Writer-in-Residence Arianne True. Performed at the Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series event with Naomi Shihab Nye at Town Hall Seattle on September 19, 2019.