I am not grounded by this poisonous dirt
My roots do not fall into your social disease
This country is not the soil on which I am fertilized
Lies only serves to sap the earth of her nutrients

It is the world that birthed me
Nurtured though sometimes hurt me

I am not a creature of my local society
But a sapling ready to spring from the entirety
Of humanity

These aged rings that mark my time
Can be found in every sound that nature mimes

My mind is free to be a grand improvement

The earth that birthed me is our shared history
In science, art, education, love, and poetry

My hands are leaves that branch forth from me

So when I flower blooming beautiful petals
When they fall like a warm autumn shower
When my limbs crack, snap, and bend
Heavy with winter’s water laden wind
Lay me bare right here to wither and rot away

You, my beneficiary will emerge from the same dirt
But grow to be a brighter bigger more beautiful tree