Young tree growing crooked within the only
available patch of light brightening the
walled hole of a patio.
Poverty's condominium,
long row of dark doorways,
mirror images endlessly
copied from the one out to the street.

And on the morning after
the earth broke you free
your leaves quaked in the breeze.
Rubble rising high round your roots,
you survived when the patio
was cracked open letting
hope out,
trembling free
in the silent
aftermath.

Elena Huegel, a member of Iglesia Cristiana de Guadalajara, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Guadalajara, Mexico, serves the Pentecostal Church of Chile (IPC). She is an environmental and Christian education specialist.