I'm Grounded

The wind pushes through my bark, but it only chills me.  

The koala clings to me, but I feel nothing but its fear.  

My leaves fall like sobs, fragile and dying,  

Drifting to a world that no longer remembers me.

The ground shakes beneath me as the machines approach,  

Chainsaws howl, a violent song in the air.  

I watch my brothers collapse, one after another,  

Each crash rips deeper into my heart.

I want to cry out, to flee, but I’m trapped,  

My roots bind me to this place, a prisoner in the earth.  

I wait for the them, the shadow of the saw,  

Knowing it will sever me from everything I’ve known.

The first cut slices through my soul, agonising and deep,  

I feel myself splinter, unraveling in their hands.  

The koala trembles, but I can’t save it,  

I can’t even save myself from this fate.

I fall to the earth, broken, shattered inside,  

My limbs twisted, my body stripped bare.  

If only they understood, if only they cared,  

Maybe I wouldn’t be lying here, forgotten, dying alone.