we grow like trees

You've done such a good job of creating this idea of growth and life in the reader's mind. The format works wonderfully, and the background image is spot on.

One thing I'd like to discuss is your word choice. I'm perplexed by the line "for something and nothing" because I keep thinking that it connects with "as if the sky would return the embrace." Lines 3-6 have me all tied up, as I can't seem to form the actual sentences and where each piece goes. The thing is that I'd rather you add a comma after something, and put "but nothing," since I'd like a more clear continuation of that idea. Even something like "for something, but nothing comes" would make that first sentence distinct from the next line of "as if the sky would return the embrace."

In addition, I don't know how to feel about the line "our arms branch out into arms." Don't get me wrong, I do like that line, but the language lessens the impact of it. The repetition of "arms" makes the line seem a little mediocre, to me at least. If you want another tree reference to go with the word "branch," would "forks" work, since branches end in the form of two extending pieces? I'd like a different word to be used in the place of the second "arms," since that would definitely add a neat portion to this poem.

I don't like the following line either. "Till they run out of themselves" seems almost unnecessary, as you could let the reader infer that there's an eventual end to the arms. If you took that line out, you're leaving a little portion of the poem to the reader's imagination, which gets them to think more closely about your words. I think that's a good thing.

Something that seems a little odd is that you rhymed only two lines of this poem's entirety, "cup" with "up." If this is intentional, then disregard this, but it kind of distracted me, since I then tried to find other rhymes in the poem. If you want to prevent the rhyme, then you could replace "and sometimes Life shows up" with "and sometimes Life appears." Random rhymes usually end up distracting me from the rest of the poem.

Actually, I think the "and" in that line isn't necessary, unless that line is a continuation off its predecessor. "Spring's brimming cup" seems like it could be the end of that sentence, but that's up to you.

The line of "oh, but she takes her time" seems very distinct from its following line of "we are trees." I like the "oh" line, but it seems disconnected, almost too descriptive of "Life" since you then bring back in the tree metaphor. Even just ending the line on "Winter's wither" would be fine, but the "oh" doesn't seem to fit as well, in my opinion.

This does end well though, and does a good job of tying everything back in.

Sorry this was so long, but I kept getting frustrated by reloading the page and losing my saved review, so I kept writing. Feel free to ask questions or disregard everything I said. I hope this is helpful!

Thanks for sharing this extended metaphor which trees and life are personified by being compared to humans. It flows well, is easily understood and the choice of words is excellent. I love the artistic background. It adds very significantly to the very serious, pensive almost brooding or worrisome mood.

My understanding:

Very true, just like trees we reach out to others and to a higher power-the sky. The sky could also be understood as the frontier of knowledge and accomplishments as yet not attained.

Suggestion:

Punctuation and capitalization would have prevented me from pausing to determine if a new sentence was starting or if another had finished.

....strolls by absentmindedly....

We are trees,....

....hill-slope

Oh but she takes she time....

Hey, Articus. As I was reading your piece, I thought it was very unique the way you compared people to trees. Thumbs up for the stanzas. The steady flow of the poem made it very easy to read. And by the way, centering the poem was a good choice. Keep up the typing and brainstorming.