They rise up for the fight—
and the love—
out of the dark.
Towards light they cannot see
but only feel.
To stand against winds
and fires
they don’t yet know exist.
Some lie in wait,
until the time is just right
to announce their presence,
while others emerge overnight,
grabbing at the veterans
who paved the way for their arrival.
They shoot and they spread,
extending themselves onto fields
as far as the eye can see,
vying for position
to serve the greater good.
Because that’s all they want.
To serve
and to grow.
And when they are cut down
and put on display,
or erased without a trace,
some of us mourn
and wring our hands,
hoping this army can recover.
That these soldiers of earth
will continue to rise,
and give us another chance
to prove our love.
— ❧ —
Inspiration for Soldiers of Earth
I was out for a hike the other day (of course) and the phrase “soldiers of earth” just popped into my head while I was studying some trees. They were white oak that looked like shag bark hickory, but my point in bringing them up is that the strange bark made me study them more. It also made me think, I don’t study them enough. If you enjoy poetry, I hope you’ll check out some more over at In Verse. Thanks for stopping by!
P.S. This poem is about more than trees.