If Trees Could Speak

Illustration by Sarah Deas

I wish that trees could speak,
oh, the words that they would say!
They’re time-tested– never weak,
watching everyday.

They have witnessed countless horrors
yet they wouldn’t testify.
Our human judgment system
would attempt to make them lie.

So they sit silently and still
they move only with the breeze.
They are without freewill
when you force them to their knees.

So I think that if they’d speak
they would only truly say
that they’ve seen enough of our
crap to last them anyway.

For centuries they have known our ways
yet they are always trusted friends.
We bend and break them and
we forget to commend.

They take our burdens
and wear the scars with pride.
Because the strong and wise
never truly die.

And if they spoke
you would know why.