A Distinguished Guest | Emma Dickinson
leveled
By Ella Struck
Little yellow CAT
pawing at the ground
Purring as she digs,
the fault lines echoing the sound
Gerrymandering the families
that were previously earthbound
Smoothing out the asphalt
so new folks can get around
Someone’s sapling son
Holding small and fast
His father strong beside him
But soon he’ll be the last
The tallest falling first
And the rest of them to ash
Their thick and natural beauty
A figment of the past
Ella Struck is a Junior in Environmental Conservation and Management at Auburn University. She has a minor in Forest Health and supplements this interest during her work at the Forest Health Dynamics Co-op, where she is a fellow leading her own research. Ella has always had a passion for reading and writing and is thrilled to have been able to combine the two spheres of her life in this piece.