The Prometheus Tree Poem by Mark Sauer

Troy was a virgin wilderness,
The pyramids not yet conceived,
Atlantis yet unraised - much less
Deluged - when first that seedling leaved.
It was already old when Eve
Plucked temptation, when Gilgamesh
Met Enkidu, when Ceres grieved.
It was an ancient gnarled bush
When a newer burned for Moses
Unconsumed. Since all things must end
And the longest watcher closes
Soon his vigil, what need to send
Herostratos, mad with envy,
To seek dark immortality
And make all men accessory,
Killing, to kill, the oldest tree?