We grew up on the same street,<br />You and me.<br />We went to the same schools,<br />Rode the same bus,<br />Had the same friends,<br />And even shared spaghetti<br />With each other's families.<br />And though our roots belong to<br />The same tree,<br />Our branches have grown<br />In different directions.<br />Our tree,<br />Now resembles a thousand<br />Other trees<br />In a sea of a trillion<br />Other trees<br />With parallel destinies<br />And similar dreams.<br />You cannot envy the branch<br />That grows bigger<br />From the same seed,<br />And you cannot<br />Blame it on the sun's direction.<br />But you still compare us,<br />As if we're still those two<br />Kids at the park<br />Slurping down slushies and<br />Eating ice cream.<br /><br /><br /><br />Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun (2010)