The lightning struck tree
Stands tall
Bark shorn by a razor’s swath
Carved clean toward ground
But saved from split
By a thin strand of wire
That drew the jolt off
To splinter a nearby fence post
And find its ground.
The lightning tree
Stands tall
Forever marked
With limbs lifted up
Leaves catching sun and breeze
Growing, greening, living,
A lesson for all of us
Marked by sudden strike.
The Agony of Victory 