Trees

Joanna Zhang/ Massachusetts, United States/ Shanghai, China
English

I’d rather befriend trees

With its calmness that breathes

Simultaneously with my skin and flesh

through the aorta that travels to all my nerves

from head to toe

and hit me.

 

It’s my dream to befriend trees

To lie in that ocean of green

Sheltered by those aged and bent arms that form

The ceiling of a tent with the scent of

My grandmother’s blanket

The blanket that I wore as an infant when

Grandmother was putting me to bed.

 

I befriend trees

They’re so pure and naïve

never contaminated by the

complexity and ambiguity of human hearts.

Humans. Humans. Endless noise.

 

But

I can only befriend trees within the deepest corner

Of my soul,

my soul that resides under trees

swirling, silent, passionate trees

I felt that!

As I am not courageous enough to be

Discarded by the flock of white sheep.

Joanna Zhang/ Massachusetts, United States/ Shanghai, China
Joanna Zhang was born and raised in Shanghai, China, before moving to the states for boarding school. She is currently a student at Milton Academy, invested in creative writing and literature in her free time. Her poetry work has been recognized with a Gold Key in the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and published on Overachiever Magazine. Her historical fiction novel, Caroline, was published by Archway and Simon and Schuster in 2025. Joanna is also the founder of the Poempath platform.

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