Joanne Shenandoah The Evergreen Tree
When the Creator made the earth
All kinds of trees were planted
The maple, birch, oak, hickory, apple, pear
And nut trees and so on
The Creator had to tend to other worlds
So He asked the trees to watch over the earth
All trees promised they would watch over the land
The trees waited and waited
For the Creator's return
They waited many days
And they waited many nights
The trees began to get tired
And they started to fall asleep
They forgot the promise
They had given the Creator
Only the evergreens remained awake
Keeping watch over the earth
When the Creator returned
Only the evergreen trees were still awake
As a reminder to everyone to keep their word
During every fall and winter
All the trees lose their leaves
Except the evergreen trees
