Deep-Rooted
“Storms make trees take deeper roots.” – Dolly Parton
Deep-Rooted
“Storms make trees take deeper roots.” – Dolly Parton
Landmark oak trees
spread hundred-year-old canopies,
stretch roots beneath neighborhood fences, streets,
buckle concrete sidewalks, harbor blackbirds,
host frizzy-tailed squirrels.
Wounded, weathered bark
sprouts tender suckers.
Gnarled limbs spill acorns, golden duff
into beds of azaleas, hydrangeas,
offer leafy fodder for monarch butterfly larva.
I contemplate aged leviathans
through kitchen window,
shade puddled beneath thick trunks.
Hefty branches menace shingled roofs,
dwarf post-war seaside cottages.
Deep-rooted monoliths survive invasive suburbia,
spread subversive seedlings,
stoically bide their time.