Growth

 Long ago in a dusty field,
 A farmer wielded his plough
 And as he turned the rich black loam
 He wondered what to grow.
  
 His eye caught by shining pearls
 Of sweetest brightest green
 “ Grapes it is for me”, he said
 “ The sweetest the land has ever seen”
  
 Quickly setting to the task at hand
 He got a bamboo stake thick and strong
 To make a trellis support firm
 Which the weather could do no wrong!
  
 The tiny vine he planted soon grew
 Covering the stake from side to side
 And gazing at the beautiful vine,
 He was unable to hide his pride
  
   The vine was soon covered with grapes
 The sweetest in the land
 And though the bamboo bent under the weight
 It still continued to stand
  
 Absorbing the farmer`s pride,
 The vine thought itself the best
 Smothering the patient bamboo
 Who thought not of protest!
  
 “You live because of me”, it said
 “ Otherwise nothing but a piece of dead wood”
 The bamboo absorbed its vicious barbs
 Swallowing tears as it stood!
  
 Till one day a mighty gale came calling
 Making the bamboo creak and groan
 It put up a valiant fight for its beloved vine
 But from the ground was torn.
  
 Come morn the green and gracious field
 Wore a look of utter despair
 The vine was beautifully green still
 But the bamboo, beyond repair

 With green tears rolling down its cheeks
 It was the vine`s turn to know
 Its growth and beauty were not all its own,
 The bamboo had made them so
  
 The broken bamboo was abandoned
 To a bonfire hot and glowing
 And though the vine continued to live,
 Its death was in the knowing
  
 That it had been nothing by itself
 The bamboo`s selfless care
 Had carried it to the heights it had reached
 And made sure it stayed there
  
 In each of our lives there is one such bamboo
 Ready to sacrifice it`s all
 So that you climb the vine of success
 Making sure you never fall!