The Vastness of the Sky
Like a Lover Who Never Planned to Stay
My tortured bones long for fire, yearn for the consummation of smoke and ash scattered by the wind to a beckoning end.
Once upon a time I was a massive, ancient tree but you broke me down and made a house of me.
I am the alchemy of long deliberation. After years of deep consideration, I pass judgment.
When I was a tree, you lived, made love, warred, died on the ground in which my seed sprouted and took root.
Your blood fed me as surely as rain and soil.
What once you did atop the earth whence I erupted, you continued to do beneath my branches as I strained toward the sky.
We changed and grew but in different ways.
I was firmly rooted, strong and supple, withstanding all that fate threw at me, but where my kin and I were absent, you were exposed to the wild predator and the tempest.
You were vulnerable, weak, few; we were many, firmly planted, and we thought we were secure.
First you took of our fruit and our sap, then you took our branches for shelter.
You stole pieces of us before you murdered us whole, like a lover who never planned to stay.
Then you built dwellings from our very bones, stripping away our skin and carving us up to fit your needs, amalgamating us with other dead things, dwelling, living and dying within us, even consigning your corpses to oblong boxes pieced together from our dismembered bodies, ironically buried again in the earthly home from which you robbed us so that we must return as dead and hollow as you.
And now you have all died, and I rot slowly with this dead consciousness, crippled into a shape you made for a purpose it can never again serve.
New trees grow within me. Eventually they will burst through the rotted rooftop and strain to the sky as I fall away around them.
Yes, I long for fire, but I am doomed to slow decay. Perhaps I will be a tree again, when the dust of my bones enriches the soil from which the new breed grows.
My judgment is thus: the sky belongs to nothing, and so do I, and so must you nothing behold, as once I beheld the vastness of the sky.
About the Creator
C. Rommial Butler
C. Rommial Butler is a writer, musician and philosopher from Indianapolis, IN. His works can be found online through multiple streaming services and booksellers.
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Comments (16)
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Powerfully poetic prose, Rommi. Very struck by “I am the alchemy of long deliberation. After years of deep consideration, I pass judgment.” Such a strong and memorable narrative voice in this
🎉 Congrats on getting Top Story—well deserved! 🌟 Keep up the amazing work! 💪✨
This piece is a deeply philosophical and evocative meditation on life, death, and the human relationship with nature. The narrative voice of the tree, once living and vibrant, now broken and decaying, speaks with a somber wisdom as it reflects on its transformation into a house—reduced from a majestic, rooted being to a tool for human habitation. The imagery is rich and poignant, capturing the tragic irony of how humanity both consumes and discards the natural world. The idea of the tree "longing for fire" yet being doomed to "slow decay" is especially haunting. It speaks to the yearning for renewal, for release from the paralysis of decay, while also acknowledging the cyclical nature of existence—how life and death, creation and destruction, are all part of an endless loop. The passage where the tree reflects on the way humans took from it, used it, and ultimately turned it into something dead and hollow, highlights the destructive consequences of human consumption and the relentless pursuit of survival at the cost of nature. The final judgment, that "the sky belongs to nothing," coupled with the tree's bittersweet hope of being reborn in the form of new trees, adds a layer of resignation and acceptance. It’s a recognition that nothing is permanent, and in the end, everything returns to the earth, even if only as dust enriching the soil for future growth. The writing is beautifully introspective, with rich imagery and a melancholic tone that invites readers to reflect on our own relationship with nature and the cycle of life and death. It’s a powerful reminder of the delicate balance between creation and destruction, and the inevitable consequences of our actions. Stunning work.
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That picture is whimsical in some way to me but you've transformed into a powerful allegory - art informs art.
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
This is my favorite piece you've ever written, raw and bare: so viscerally alive
Brilliantly & beautifully penned!!! Loving it!!! Congratulations on Top Story!!!❤️❤️💕
Beautiful
"You stole pieces of us before you murdered us whole, like a lover who never planned to stay." I especially loved this part. Your story made me so emotional for the tree. Loved your story so much!
Stunning, eloquent, masterful, Rommi. You built dwellings from our very bones is heartbreaking and deeply evocative, as if you as storyteller and poet channeled Gaia as you wrote it !
You blow me away with your eloquent yet fierce style. Broken and beautiful
Fantastical, brilliant, intense and Stunning! BRAVO! Well done!
Quite the eulogy. Beautiful.
Oh what has this lover done to the soul of the tree. Such a beautiful, sad and hopeful lament. The alchemy of long deliberation...oh my soul, but this is lovely. Love the painting, so apt to the story.