1. MelodyNolan
4/2/15
My Siamese Twins Tree of Life
I live a lonelylife. No mother or father inthe state. One brother threw himselfbeneath a train, without leavingsolittle as a
good-bye note.
I am ill most of the time. Mysurviving siblings live their lives far away. Friendships evaporatedin time. I thinkof mybrother and
fight suicide daily. I crave the life force that can onlybe passedthroughtouch.
There is a Tree ofLife down the lane. One trunksproutingtwo trees: MySiamese Twins Tree. There I can sit between themas
Mother andFather, Brother andSister, or friends remembered. Shelteredbylong, broadbranchesandleaves and cradled
betweenthe two sturdytrunks, Life infusesme frommySiamese Twins Tree.
I wail awaythe grief, myhands squishing the mudmade bythe mixture ofdirt andtears. I am afraid to dieand afraid to live.
Time andtime againmySiamese Twins Tree ofLife keeps me companyas two not one andmakes the decisionfor me.
Walkinghome, I picture the birth ofMySiamese Twins Tree. Seeds ina whirlwind eventuallysettle indirt. Decadeslater,
lightning strikes the thick, round trunk. Securelygrounded at its core, the body splits intwo and becomes twice as strong, twice
as beautiful, andtwice as giving. I lookupat the clouds andwishmybrother couldhave done the same insteadof crackingand
dying. I turn andwaive a bittersweet good-bye. Two trees to holdme, andtwo for me to hug. Havingreceived mynourishment
for the day, I breathe mygratitude for mySiamese Twins Tree of Life andcontinue living.
~ In loving memoryof John