| poet | Maya Angelou, American poet and civil rights activist |
| published | 1990, in I Shall Not Be Moved |
| form | free verse, five stanzas |
| central metaphor | great trees = great souls |
| effects on the forest | lions hunker down; elephants lumber after safety; small things recoil into silence |
| immediate effects on us | hard to breathe; hurtful clarity; regret for kind words unsaid and promises not kept |
| long-term effects | disorientation; emotional void; "dark, cold caves" |
| final stage | peace returns slowly; "Be and be better. For they existed." |
| theme (2025 specimen) | the impact of the death of a loved one on those left behind |