Dancing Willow

Shani Lam ⋅ March 29th, 2021

Shani Lam, Contributing Poet


I was trying to describe you to someone several days ago. You’re not loud and optimistic like I am.

I couldn’t say “You were a mini version of me, except that you were shorter than me by a loaf of bread, wore humongous square glasses, and had thicker lips, and obviously, you are not like me.”

I couldn’t say that you were a mini version of me because we don’t have the same personality, character, values, and goals.

I finally ended up describing you as a naive willow tree.
Those branches swayed back-and-forth from the wind on a cool windy night. They dance in the light with passion, laughter, and happiness in life. The explosion of persistence and endurance as you carry the impact from bursts of lightning followed by the gradual rumble from a distant horizon, wetness from the air as the rain splattered on you, the never-ending coldness of a snowstorm… You learn to stand tall and let your branches dance freely with no limit.

There’s incredible magic in the branches that dance around someone.
The branches’ beauty when following the route of the wind provides feelings of pleasure and comfort.

When the breeze disappears and the evening becomes peaceful. The life of the limbs stood still in the air, yet the soul encompassed down and through your trunks to the roots as the beauty of dancing flowed into the soil, giving people the sensation of spiritual needs and delight to capture the feelings forever.

And this is how you look to me, my dancing willow.