There was a yard with two tall trees
Whose limbs entwined over a tire swing
And simpler times with simpler schemes
Before we were such complex things
Before the doubt that freedom brings
Before divisions. Before we sent the brigades
When branches held us
In their shade
Long since cut down
Their roots now decay
In earthen mounds
On either side of storied ground
Though we may mourn what has been killed
The branches bend
And hold us still