Tree

So many have died,
felled by the great plague
that took them,
one by one,
from our streets, our cities.
Those great arching elms
stood once like cathedrals,
shading the world--
friends, protectors,
witnesses of time.
And then, in a season,
they were gone.
But this one still stands
as guardian and sentinel,
a faithful old friend
in the center of our town,
carrying some secret in its core
that has kept it safe,
green and whole.
Its great limbs reach up,
a fountain of hope,
stirring in us
something at our center,
calling us to be sturdy, strong,
brothers, sisters who endure.

--Timothy Haut, Feb. 24, 2016