The Oak Tree by Joyce Peters

How I wish I were an oak tree

 So strong, so great

 What some people walk by 

And others speculate 

I would start off so small 

But not end up too tall 

So I can watch the activities of all 

Oh how simple life would be 

Then change comes unexpectedly  

My roots too deep to conform  

So I watch her perform 

She makes all reform  

Everything so different from the norm 

Before I know it, it all flies by  

The only thing I recognise is the sky  

I realise no one cares if I live or if I die 

My leaves flutter to the ground as I cry 

Oh my  

My roots feel more like anchors  

I beg them to set me free 

But there was no answer to my plea 

Stuck In the clasp of stagnation  

A sheer moment of desperation  

Made me renew my connection  

With an old friend, Change  

Basking in the fact that she was needed  

By the only one who resisted  

I knew the way I'll be treated  

Will indeed be twisted  

Then all of a sudden  

There was searing pain  

My leaves shuddered in excruciation 

There it was again, again and again  

It went deep, deep and deeper  

Every strike makes me weaker 

Then I hear the word 'timber' 

I find myself on the ground  

Drifting to a sleep which was quite profound  

Change, who was bent on revenge  

Had finally made my end  

The end of the oak tree
So strong, so great  

Didn't have a clue there was such a tragic fate  

To think about it 

This isn't the way i'd like to end my days 

T'is the way I'd rather be 

Now I can happily say 

Oh how glad I am that I'm not an oak tree 

Joyce Peters