The Coming of Wisdom With Time

The Coming of Wisdom With Time
Though leaves are many, the root is one;

Through all the lying days of my youth
I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun;
Now I may wither into the truth.


My initial thought was of meditation. Through time spent meditating, true wisdom and understanding will be found.

The poem was first titled "Youth and Age" once again expressing the wisdom sought through time.

Line one: Evey lie, exaggeration, and truth fiddled with is based on a "root." There are millions of leaves on a tree but they are all surviving through the root, a root, an initial life source. All the rumors spread about a certain subject or matter of life have one truth.

Line two: In childhood the rumors are believed, the leaves are taken from the trees. A child has a partially clean slate and will believe whatever rumor is passed their way.

Line three: During the time of youth a child is yearning for knowledge and soaks up every bit of it. The part about the sun also made me think of how care free a child is. The truth or importance of the knowledge learned is not important, only that they have attained it. Playing in the sun is more important.

Line four: Adulthood is different. If the attained knowledge is false it is useless. The truth is what matters the most, weather it be positive or negative, weather they bask or wither in it.

The definition of knowledge changes throughout time and can only be discovered through time and adulthood.