By: Charles Xue

I am the only tree here

In what was a giant forest

And I didn’t shed a tear

While the rest of the trees disappeared

When I was a sapling

They would always tease me

They wouldn’t let me sing

Saying it was weird

Well I got the last laugh

And that’s that, nothing more

Now that they’ve been cut in half

And I’m still standing tall

They would steal my sunlight

And extend their leaves on top of mine

And I would shiver in fright

Whenever I saw a little creature

But that just made me stronger

And when the drought came

Only I could endure hunger

Luckily for them, most survived

Oh, but there was more to come

Such as lumberjacks and a hurricane

That year, only I could bear a plum

While they tried to recover

When the lumberjacks came

They chopped down the stronger trees

Leaving me the same

Luckily for them, some survived

Now I had all the space

To branch out my branches

I grew with unparalleled grace

While the others tried to recover

When the hurricane came

The other trees resisted

Like moths to a flame

I bent with the wind, and didn’t topple over

Now I’m the only one standing

With no one left to tease me

The world is demanding

But I kept expanding