Square Root by Julie A. Dickson

 

Alexey Demidov

Square Root

We are taught in mathematics

that the square root of a number

are two numbers when multiplied

equal itself

Roots are part of an underground

network below trees, nourishing

the main trunk, branches

and leaves

Human roots are ancestors,

those who lived before us,

whom we might call family,

parents, grandparents

If I am human, not a tree

and not established mathematically,

then parts of who I am multiplied

make up me

If my sum equals the whole of me,

psyche, brain, body and memories,

then my roots feed branches, limbs

outward stretched

If my roots do not nourish my body,

I wither, might not grow or thrive,

sounds like I need my very roots

to survive

© Julie A. Dickson

Julie A. Dickson

Julie A. Dickson has been a poet for over 55 years and a YA fiction writer. She draws from memories, life experiences, nature, and visual art. Her work has been widely published in many journals, including Kind of a Hurricane Press, Lothlorien, Ekphrastic Review, Feed the Holy, and MasticadoresUSA. Dickson shares her home with two rescued feral cats, Cam and Jojo.

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