Sycamore Gap

You’re history, said the tree to the wall;
the last crumbling remains of empire.

You are the invader, replied the wall.

I am the conqueror, said the tree to the wall;
sending platoons of seeds across my territory.

I stand alone, replied the wall.

I chose this valley, said the tree to the wall;
stretching my roots under your scored foundations.

I belong here, replied the wall.

I am growing taller, said the tree to the wall;
you’re a lonely stone sentry outstripped by a sapling.

I remain, replied the wall.

I am a survivor, said the tree to the wall;
I host the resurrection of each turning season.

I endure, replied the wall.

You’re the one they blame, said the tree to the wall;
insensate barrier, stone-deaf to the rough bark of liberty.

You cannot know, replied the wall.

--Zoe Mitchell, British poet and academic, published in The Guardian online, 27 January 2020. On September 28, 2023, the approximately 300-year-old tree was deliberately felled with a chainsaw and left lying atop Hadrian's Wall; a 16-year old teen and a 60-year-old man have been arrested in connection with the cutting down of the tree. The felling of the tree onto the wall also damaged the wall, it has been discovered.

There is, however, hope that in the spring, the tree's root system will send up shoots, and that, with time, the tree will again rise.