When I first saw you
In person
5 years ago in 2011
10 years after everything happened
I already knew your story
Mine hadn't happened yet

You withstood death
And destruction on a catastrophic scale
Then twice you fell when
Struck by powerful forces
Of Mother Nature

Yet you refused to die
Your leaves did not wilt
Nor fall
You remained strong

As you were brought home
And planted again between
The north and south pools
In the memorial plaza
Of the
World Trade Center

Now a little over 15 years later
On a freezing and windy
Autumn day
Your leaves have barely
Changed color

As I look at you and remember
Our first official meeting
I didn't know that 2 years afterwards
I would be bracing for impact

Going into a cataclysmic storm
That threatened my life
But just like you
It wasn't my time

It wasn't man made terrorism
That threatened me
But viral ones
Didn't make them any less
Dangerous or deadly

But by the grace of G-d
I was given another chance
To stand tall
And be a beacon of hope
For those like me

So you see
We are the same
We made it
We continue to
Soldier on

But most importantly
It is to realize and understand that
Now we're both survivors