Uprooted by Jessica McKinney
Stop
Before you crush my leaves
Stop
Before you twist my branch
Stop
Before you strip my bark
Stop
Before you cut me down
I am only
A tree
One that is strong
But not unbreakable
One that is rooted
In effort, adaptability
Let me bloom.
Trim the dead foliage.
Do not let me drown
Do not let me burn by the sun
Do not let me
Fall
My caretaker,
You are not rooted-
Deeply
Or strongly
Your leaves sway
With the changing wind
Your branches
Twist with others
Your bark
Is brittle and chipped
You may never get cut down
But-
You will fall
This stops here.
May you be planted somewhere new
Take only yourself
And your pride that
You are a tree,
Nonetheless
That you are only
A tree

Ink Drawing

Ink Drawing

Installed in A Thousand Words 2, the Essex Gallery.

Ink Drawing