(Poem) "Hope is that stubborn thing"

“Hope is that stubborn thing,” he started, 

And I missed the rest, 
Thinking of the other metaphors for hope.
Feathers.  Beacons.  Trees.
The trees kept me for a bit, and I kept hope in the branches:
Hope as tenuous strength;
Hope as wide-flung web;
Hope as blinding light--
A tall oak; 
A sleepy willow;
A flaming maple, respectively.
If hope is the sturdiness, agility, and color of a growing thing, 
Standing without announcement,
Then what is its stubborn start or counterpart?
A heath?  The trash if a photo were taken or a painting rendered?
The one trunk with bandy enough roots
To look ugly daily
But stubborn enough to hang onto, and to save a life in a flood
Of muddy water
Rising?

(Photo courtesy A.N. Erlandson, arborsmith.com)