Cropped down
Humbled again,
By the swing of an ax,
I’m thankful
For the jagged wounds in my bark

Cleaved to pieces again
Life’s chipped away at me
Now I’m lost among the stumps

Burned again
To flying bits of ember
Then stomped into silence,
I’m wedded to the soil

Bound to rise again
To branch off and prosper
Wherever I choose

Still I brace,
For the hard-faced man
And his sharpened ax

Waiting
To be felled and dispersed
Again