Mira Eisenstein

Young Budding, baby, breakable A sapling barely budding Fragile, broken with a touch Peeking out of the soil First breath of the world Beginning a cycle Life ahead waiting to grow old

Old Powerful, persistent, prevailing Ancient still standing Life ongoing Possibly 100 maybe 1,000 years It will never be known Survived every storm Prevailing through the rain Lightning strikes and yet it lives Scars left sharing a story Etched into the bark

Bark Shades, stratiform, shields Multicolor Browns of different shades Undertones of all colors yet all brown Some orange, others green, yellow even All colors collide blending together Unable to tell where one color stops And where another starts Scales of wood creeping on the tree Some smoothed, some cracking Others peeling off Sacrificed, protecting everything within Layered colors, patterns, textures Joining together creating a trunk

Trunk Strong, sturdy, standing tall Main piece, needed to survive Essential for life Center of being Hard unwavering Continuous pattern Moss adds pops of green An occasional yellow Moss adds pops of green An occasional yellow Intricate patterns raised and engraved Indented paths, veins Connection of the roots and branches Leading from the highest point to the lowest reach Connected to the roots drawing in water Holding the weight of the branches

Branches Slender, stretched, spread Reaching to the sky Division of the trunk Numerous and uncountable Winding and twisting Tangling with each other Undifferentiated, which is which From the ends sprouts leaves

Leaves Light, lush, lively, lissome Flat, thin as paper Weightless swaying in the wind Catching light displaying greens Vibrant greens of every shape Hues of yellow and brown Each one a unique color In autumn a tradition Fiery reds, yellows, and oranges Every a different shape Ellipticals, ovals, truncates 3 sections or 4 or 5 Some of every variety No two look the same but All serve the same purpose Gathering light, making food Keeping the tree alive

—Mira Eisenstein

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