Knowing Not

Environments differ

Oaks strategically planted long ago,

Line the streets of the upper class.

And…

College campuses with their oak branches of shade

Bring comfort for those affording higher education.

But what about…

Those of natural-scapes

Of places amidst mud and drought

Where the oaks often suffer lack of water

Or those amidst snow’s winter runoff reaching to the sky

Leaning in and touching their middle branches yearning

Where wind-lifted voices murmur nature’s lullaby across the leaves

Like the gentle hum of electric wires stretched beside the country roads

How strong and supportive these primitive wonders continually exposed yet protective

Still…

Carefully maintained oaks behind gated communities

Like residents clothed in hand-made silks

Openly proclaim “I am of privilege”

Know not the way the impoverished Native American chants

Beneath a weathered but still standing oak

“I am an Indian”