Three short stanzas sketch a pale, delicate girl: white hair like fresh snow, a pounding heart, a hungry stomach. She seems worn thin, both physically and emotionally. Then the poem turns strange. A tree grows from her shoulder, black like her eyes, and the line about her eyes suggests they are hidden or unreadable, so we only glimpse her through that dark image.
The tree is never explained. The speaker says its meaning is "up to you," which invites readers to decide for themselves whether it stands for grief, worry, illness, memory, or something else. The final lines shift the poem from description to a direct address. By saying "we all carry trees too," the speaker turns the girl into a mirror. The tone is gentle and quietly caring, a little sad but not hopeless. The mood is one of shared understanding: whatever weighs on you, you're not the only one carrying something.