This tree falls
in echoes of the saw,
roots pulled up roughly.
Dedicated hands
chisel them until
their dragon facade appears.
Dying, once resilient limbs
surviving flashes of lightning,
now recline under sympathetic eyes.
Turning round,
we hold ourselves
in layers of cold, hard soil.
Transplant our roots—
hardship beyond anyone’s touch.
(From “Wings Toward Sunlight” by Mosaic Press 2011)