They say the apple
does not fall
far from the tree.
Except of course..
It takes at least two..
to make a three.

The One I know
is a mighty oak.
My lifelong pillar
of undying hope
and loving light.
The definition
of an underdog
in every battle
that she fights..
and yet,
through grit
and diligence,
she always wins.
She sees
no other option..
for, the welfare
of our family
upon her
mighty shoulders
firmly sits.

She never let me
have it easy..
always pushed me
to become
the very best.
But also,
always offered me
much liberty to breathe
and be my truest self.
For all of that,
I love her very dearly..
more than any words
can ever hope to tell.

The One I don’t
was literally him..
The Devil.
The One who liveth
only in the details,
blurry and unknown.
I’ve not a faintest
memory of him..
but from what
I have been told..

He was a wicked beast..
both calculating
in his cruelty
and deathly cold.
Ruthless in his
wanton violence..
and crooked in his many
strange depravities..
A brilliant
and powerful man.
He wrote poems
in his youth
to sway the maidens..
that much, at least,
I hear and understand.

So, does the apple
fall far from the tree?
In some ways,
gladly no..
in other ways,
I sure hope so..
in tertiary matters
maybe not?
What part of it
am I at fault for..
when it’s time to kneel
before Almighty God?

We cannot change
our nature, it is true..
The Devil lives in me.
To change that
biological reality..
there’s nothing
I can do.

Our nurture also
lies outside
of our control..
it sets the stage for
our metamorphosis
from seed to sapling
to a tree,
that stands upon
its own.

The rest, however,
falls upon
our very own
branches..
not our roots.
We are the writers
of our own,
nobody else’s,
living truth.

Almighty God alone
shall be its scales
and weigher..
The One I worship
through my wicked
and sublime
poetic prayers.