I asked you to name your four great-grandmothers
We spoke their names in chants
Asking for guidance from she who brought forth the marrow of our bones
Wisdom and warning
Tell me the stories of poverty and of privilege
What must I do now that we know better

At midnight we stand in silence for the death of a tree
The last of her kind in this forest
Who was her great grandmother and can we imagine
What garden this forest would have been
When the land was tended by the Ottawa, Ojibway, and Potawatomi

In our silence we remember
To raise our voices in song
To remain defiant in the face of extinction
We will plant new trees that are blight-resistant
We will stand together
We will continue to fight