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Hawthorn
more knobbles and angles than thorns
all the signs of suffering
chapped skin
gnarled joints
hawless twigs
contorted limbs
would you rather be edging a field of contented cows
layered and pinned but rooted in rich deep soil
or is life here worth enduring
the minch’s merciless gales?
backed against the crag
braced for storms
holding to a principle that felt like freedom
in your seedling days
dying for it now