Human Ingenuity

An oak tree

standing taller than every house

on its street. Older than your grandmother’s

grandmother, and perhaps her grandmother

still. With tales of ancient times

before zapping power lines

when it lived in the forest free.

Though despite its years

it never boasts its wisdom

beyond its obvious size.

Trees fall as man rushes

to the scene. Eager to stake a claim

on the luscious land that cannot be owned.

Roads are built around the mighty oak

as quaint houses appear from the dust

around its trunk. The mighty tree

now stands as the last of it’s kin

for miles.

On its thick branches

live quick squirrels and little birds

who feast on its acorns aplenty.

Hiding away nutritious tree nuts

to outlast the ever colder season.

Down below from the meadow

no longer growing, deer visit

and eat all that’s left behind

to survive their shrinking home.

To a family walking by

it appears an ordinary tree.

To the animals who cannot comprehend

capitalism, it exists as the last lifeline

in a world of deforestation and destruction.

Yet it too must face

human ingenuity.

And in a single day

the tree is gone.