Some are born with wings to fly away;
others with roots that make them stay.

Some are born neither way,
and must grow one or the other as

Circumstance and fate interplay,
leading them through a lifetime, day by day.
their circumstances shaping conditions,
creating paths toward a destination
that just may be where their impact
becomes the force that challenges
the reasoning to fly or to stay.

Adapt we must to roots or wings,
to carry us through life’s workings.

And if those wings grow strong enough to fly,
they may pull the roots from where they lie,
from places where they’ve held us fast,
when what once sustained us cannot last.

So fly they must, to live a life
where roots can grow and home survive,
for wings may carry us away,
but roots are what makes home a place to stay.

My wings were strong and pulled me away
from a home and family to the world at bay
But ultimately the roots grew stronger
And circumstances mean I’ll fly
no longer.