Gum Resilience

I am Ghost gum and I lost my kith and kin to black summer,

My most tragic loss, too rootbreaking to recall!

I’ve got just 7 leaves that foliate on me, clutching tight,

My damaging past may affect my future but I'll be resilient.

Memories of the flaming red bushfire that emerged,

High temperatures wreaked havoc across the entire place.

Me, envisioning my entire family come up in flames,

Then my present vision of burned trees, but I’ll stay resilient.

Chills of solitude run down my trunk,

Flashbacks start zoning me out from the present.

I smell the smoke that flows like breezy wind,

And it still mildly suffocates me but I’m resilient.

No rustles of leaves or distant calls of an unseen bird,

Just deep silence spreading everywhere in the forest.

But I know that I'll make a beautiful and lush new forest,

I just need to always stay resilient.

One day, hopefully, the koalas will come home again,

Bees and butterflies will buzz and flutter back.

Hopefully, peace will return to our once-tranquil place,

I will never lose hope and don't worry, I'm always going to be resilient.