by Claire Wang, graduating in '26

This is the way trees fall:
When snow strips bark naked,
A last attempt to knock them down
When heavy blizzards pressed down against
Seeds
Pierced by knives of snow.

This is the way trees fall:
When birds fly away
But roots from their mothers
Hold them down to the winter storm.

Trees fall when:
Their mothers must whittle down their seeds
And teach them that
Bark and Body
Are their sins.

Trees fall when:
Sunbaked lands turn red with sap
When snow crushes the trees
With dancing wind
Because they were born trees instead of the bees they shelter.

Trees fall when:
They are not beautiful enough naturally
When dark bark must be cut down
Because they are physically a sin?

Why should trees freeze to death under the warmth of the sun?
Why are these trees losing seeds
carrying them barren, instead of pollinating them?
Must winter return to crush the next saplings
Under the weight of their own blood?

For every tree that falls
Another one grows.
But just for one season
Spare one, carefree and innocent

​

“Save a girl and break the razor blade.”