We Probably Won't Get Another Shot at This

We probably won't get another shot at this

Our skies are turning yellow and they’re asking for more coal / my people of the blue-ridge hills / stand up / my people of the front porch swing / and too sweet tea / I used to plant acorns / hoping for a tree by mid morning / not a big one / I knew my limits / maybe a beech / or a pine / because this is how it works in a child’s mind: / you plant any seed / and any tree can bless you back / Now I know when you plant a seed / you better have its back / and exhale like it matters / In my next life / let me breathe among giants / branches diving skyward / never breaching sky / reaching through the past / I can see a verdant split: a crossroad that will see me through / it’s green that I want and nothing more / give me green / and leave