The Jew Tree

[JWagner]

She stands in the garden, spotted in red
Evergreen grace around my homestead
A delight for birds of varied wing
For us she is toxic, a dangerous thing

She knows to defend and to survive
Even with little she can grow and thrive
Yet man took her wood for hunt and war
She endured and outlived hardly more

The rootstock strikes out if required
Her wounds heal quickly, so admired
'Mongst trees, she reigns, a silent queen
Thousand years or more, her span unseen

Every branch can sprout anew
Once it reaches the earth in a silent coup
So it can live, so to speak lightly
Eternities here on earth so brightly

The wood is hard, once in high demand
For bows and arrows in a strong man's hand
This tree once was sacred and so revered
Today we are anxious and a little bit weird