by Matthew Murrey
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| ‘Most famous tree in the world’: Sherwood Forest’s 1,000-year-old Major oak dies —The Guardian, June 18, 2026. Photo by Mark Chelu via Shutterstock. |
I hold a thousand years of rings—
laws turned crimes, outlaws
heroes: Robin Hood to Mangione.
I have remained here
as posts were sunk, fences strung,
and commons turned to cost.
I have known the sadness of air
heavy with smoke and all the burnings:
coal, humans, forests, oil and gas.
I know there are limits,
only so much time,
and all of us must perish.
I am stark. You can see
every gnarl, burr, split, and break
in the bark, scar in the wood.
I have not put forth one leaf
in this heat of twenty twenty-six.
You and I stand bare beneath the sky.
Matthew Murrey is the author of Little Joy (Cornerstone Press, 2026) and Bulletproof (Jacar Press, 2019). He can be found on Bluesky and Instagram under the handle @mytwords.
