A family tree should provide open, welcoming arms
Like the shade of leafy branches on a hot summer's day
Shelter from the storms of life, the heat of stressful situations
Still allowing light to filter through so you can make your own way

A family tree is as varied as the many branches growing from sturdy trunks
Offering strength, flexibility, and variety
All are not the same but are tied to one another
By familial bonds, biology, and geography

Occasionally branches fall, break away
Unable to weather the challenges of life
Falling to the ground or driven far from its roots
To be snatched up as driftwood and thrown into the flames of strife

Often trees die, families are forgotten
Even though its roots were deep
It was wrenched from the soil by pestilence or natural disaster
Its exposed rings tell the story even though asleep

Once verdant, vibrant, and vigorous
Its stump serves as a table for a child at play
Whose family is just starting to put down roots
Its exposed rings reveal life in its day