newly formed,
fashioned from rippling waves
as raindrops in a pond
stemming from the shoot,
not six-weeks-old, reaching
to warm spring light
and close-knit company
sustained by a sprig
rocking in the breeze
to chimes of bird songs,
cradling newborn leaves
branching from a bough
wisened from canicular winds
roughened from infernal frosts
yet constant, faithful, and true
anchored to a trunk
unyielding in support
ringed from seasons of storm
girded from seasons of drought
deeply rooted
unseen tendrils
drawing strength
holding firm
to every life-giving thing
Mick Ó Seasnáin is a Teaching Consultant for The National Writing Project at Kent State University and an English Language Arts Teacher for Edgewood Middle School. His poem "What Only Parents Say" received honorable mention as a finalist in the 2019 Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, and his writing has been featured in the Ohio Journal of English Language Arts (OJELA), Literary Orphans, Crack the Spine, Up the River, The Wayne Literary Review, Teachers of Vision, and Brushfire Literary Magazine. Additionally, his artwork has been featured in Abstract Magazine, The Healing Muse, and The Raw Art Review amongst other publications and gallery showings. See more of his work at https://tinyurl.com/MickOSeasnain.