I am a green shoot Defying the rubble around me, Fighting for the body That rests beneath, Not yet returned To the dust Life is like energy It cannot be created or destroyed Simply passed on You may have shattered my home To gather this pile of rubble But still, I grow from it You may have stripped my life To add this body to your trophy tally But still, I grow from it My branches reach out Painting the ground Drawing the hopeful eye In time, you may smother me once again Your arms of fear may rain down To drown my life-soil in hellfire But when you make contact, Across the cavern where your soul once was, With the hopeful eye, You’ll reckon with me again And find that no arsenal could stunt my growth I will be laughter in a tent next to a makeshift morgue I will be dinner shared on platter-hands I will be the constant in a land of jostled memories The proof of what came before And of what remains I will pass on I will never be lost Once my time has come,  I will feed what is to grow Millenia beyond when you’re left behind In the grave you dig yourself Not destroyed, But forever lost Brendan Carroll is a Junior in the SFS who dabbles in Business and frequents Global Affairs. He almost forgot to send his bio because he was bumping Eusexua for the dillionth time.