Sonnet on an Elm
--Dan Veach

There are times when an elm tree's life seems good to me.
The never wondering what you're going to be
Is part of that: an elm tree never tried
To add another cubit to its height
By taking thought. Times, like today
When water, air, and light
Are all that I could care or dream to ask
Of life, how I have wished for roots—
Tree roots, gnarled but never overwrought.
Tomorrow, not to get up again for work
Where livings are so grudgingly given
And got, but take for food
These elemental pleasures of the heart
Here root my life, upon this very spot.