Affair of the Past

Beneath the shades of a fallen tree Under faded gravel and fain leaves Was inadvertently set a seed, Slowly setting upon its land, slowly luring sound and sand Grew stems and leaves, tiny but grand Plucked by brave hearts and much poisoned flowers, Its body trembled to the spell of chanting breeze And wept to the weight of the drizzle and hail But, scorned sight of its ancestors laid slain Upon this land, their home and grave Kissed kindled courage anew And through deluges and drains To the sky’s weeping and veins Grew and grew, mighty and strong To stand once more, the pride of its land Till he caught the hungry blade’s frosted teeth upon his chest And fell at once to the ground where his ancestors rest