Ode to the Cherry Trees in my Front Yard
The hot summer sun
On the front yard,
Where we plant a sapling
In a bed of mulch
And build a wall
To protect it from the world.
The tiny green buds
On the ends of each branch,
That will bloom into flowers
Delicate as paper,
Soft as silk.
The strong persistence
Of the resilient branches
Battling the invasive beetles
That gnaw on its leaves,
Despite the holes
In its tattered sails.
Where creatures gather;
A village for the spotted fawns
And rabbits hiding in the tall grass
And deer standing on two feet
To reach the branches
That grow ever higher.
Asleep in the winter,
Dormant and gray.
Alive in the spring,
Green and growing and blossoming.
Just a single cherry,
Small and red.
The token of our efforts;
The tree’s medallion
Of success.
-Maya Price, freshman
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