"If a tree falls"

Amelia Dunn

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to notice does it make a sound?

Does its impact even hit the ground?

Will the wind still whistle

Or will silence echo in the burrows of what once was

what once was must be forgot

for leaves will fall again next autumn

and shoots will spawn in the spring

does sadness fill you as you stare at an empty home

or do you dance with excitement at the new creations that bloom within you

knock down this wall and we’ll have a dream home

But someone else’s once was must now be forgot

what once was must be forgot

for leaves will fall again next autumn

and shoots will spawn in the spring

do you ever want to pick all the flowers to take home their beauty

but then remember on the walk back

you’ve killed what once was and stripped them from their home

just to fill the empty burrows of your own

does your own happiness outweigh the presence of others

are you superior

do you gather flowers for the home you built on someone else’s refuge

and frolic amongst empty crevices unscathed

does your god complex out rule you from the damages you create

as you turn your back and wave

your silence speaks of a thousand names

Your presence is impactful but there’s is still blamed

Someone running in the woods WILL trip and fall over the cavity of a being that once stood tall

someone’s life WILL be destroyed as you strip back the walls that barely resemble the home they once knew

someone WILL notice their garden is now bare of the beauty that once bloomed

it’s okay

what once was must be forgot

for leaves will fall again next autumn

and shoots will spawn in the spring

but shoots can’t spawn if the saplings never scattered amongst the ground of their mother

leaves can’t fall if the trunk that holds strong was taken by another

the wind’s whistle won’t be heard if an army of alarms consumes and smothers

a nation is silenced

because if a tree falls down in the forest and no one was around to listen did it really make a sound

silence speaks a thousand words

but the thunder that rolls in its hollows shudders even louder

the screams of a mother losing her child echoes for an eternity

the sound of death knell echo as warning from once sturdy infrastructure

the rumble of machinery shatters the glass of what once was

Silence is impactful Until it is enforced

perception is a construct

and construction is a cage

society collapses and a country disassembles again

More from Amelia Dunn ↓

• @amelia.evie_poetry on Instagram and TikTok

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO