If you wish to understand resilience
ask the vetiver, whose leaves dance lightly in every passing breeze
while beneath the earth its roots descend deeper than anyone imagines
its strength is concealed, its determination deeply buried
through the dark places where few choose to look
there have been days thought I would finally break
as loss filled my heart and betrayal eroded certainty
time itself seemed intent upon wearing away everything I loved
yet somehow, I survived, for like the vetiver, my deepest roots
had long ago found hope, the quiet hope
that survives winter, storms, absence and the slow turning of years
when evening falls and the wind moves softly through the grasses
its hidden fragrance and unseen strength
and what grows deepest, is often what lasts the longest
©Ann Bagnall
Annie's Poetry 