I sought out Grandmother Oak today
for some grand and motherly advice
She showed me her scars and her broken parts
And said “See how I still rise?”
“I have wept many tears for my fallen friends,
and for the creatures that didn’t survive.
My tears wet the ground and nourished my roots.
Now see how I still rise.”
—Barbara Sorenson, friend of Prairiewoods
top photo by Angie Pierce Jennings, bottom photos by Barbara Sorenson