Branch
Old twisted trunk,
tattered leaves with
bagworm chewed holes and
the ground smelling of rot
and damp.
Two limbs green
But one
snapped off cleanly.
And fell on the wind
to better soil.
A shoot
only one
Not so tall, but so strong
and such beautiful shade it gives.
And so many live
in the resilient leaves.
Writer’s Digest 2026 November PAD Chapbook Challenge,