The Tree

Rise and set
Left to right
Moss on my back

My skin grows thicker
Wrinkles and rings
One more each year

More leaves each year
I shed in fall
Dead sticks to the wind

I shade the warm
Hold nests for birds
And squirrels

I push my roots
As deep as I can
To find more water

My friends around me
Battle for the sky
Together we are the forest.