the tree by the lake
bears its orange flowers proudly
a symbol, perhaps, of hope
its aesthetic beauty,
its simple stateliness
looks dramatically out of place
near the polluted lake
in this humdrum town
where the street lights never shine
on anything worth illuminating


the tree by the lake
bears its orange flowers proudly
planted, perhaps, to justify
the existence of this town
but it will take more
than this blossoming tree
to convince me that there is
anything here worth hoping for


the tree by the lake
bears its orange flowers proudly
it speaks, perhaps, of a better place
a shining beacon,
a flowering symbol
that there is beauty
in the midst of hopelessness
and it points toward
better places in other towns
where similar trees by similar lakes
bear their orange flowers proudly