Old Man Willow

Why do you weep, Old Man Willow?
What ailment of the heart or the mind
Causes you to bend and twist,
All gnarled and knotted?
What causes your branches to bend with shame,
Your leaves to face downward
And drop like the tears of a forgotten song?
What sorrows have you faced?
What long winters and short summers?

And yet I feel your life beneath me still,
Pushing ever to the sky,
Held down by your broken limbs,
Begging to the Creator for relief!
But even then I hear your voice,
Resonating from deep within the earth,
Bringing with it all the sorrows,
All the afflictions and hardship of man,
Yet meek and low,
saying,
"Not by my will, Lord,
By thine."