The Tree had
grown old.
The Boy had
grown wealthy
and powerful.
“What’s wrong, Boy?”
the Tree asked.
“The COVID-19 crisis,”
the Boy answered.
"How can I help?”
the Tree asked.
“You can die so
the stock market
can live,”
the Boy answered.
“You can kiss my roots,”
the Tree said to the Boy.
Michael L. Ruffin is a writer, editor, preacher, and teacher living and working in Georgia. He posts poems on Instagram (@michaell.ruffin) and prose opinions at On the Jericho Road. He is author of Fifty-Seven: A Memoir of Death and Life and of the forthcoming Praying with Matthew. His poetry has appeared at TheNewVerse.News and is forthcoming in 3 Moon Magazine and Rat's Ass Review.