Old Tree,
tell me your story.
You have seen a thousand years
of seasons come and go,
witnessed the wilderness
turn into towns,
watched sadly as the wild ones
- those who have survived -
retreated more deeply into the forest,
growing ever more afraid
as the Two-Leggeds
steadily advanced
with their chainsaws
and their heavy tread.
You have wept as your sisters
turned into houses for humans
instead of birds
and small furred creatures.
Tell me about the time
when you were young,
when wolf pups huddled
among your roots,
and bears scratched their backs
on your rough bark,
those days
when all the wild creatures
spoke to one another
in the same language:
moose and bear and deer.
Tell me about a time
when life was securely lived,
when the word "wild" meant "home",
when safety and the seasons
were all you knew.
Tell me your ancient tale, Old Tree,
and it will be
a fairytale
to me.
Civilization takes it toll. We should be glad we have developed plastic for our descendants to enjoy.
ReplyDelete.. ;)
Oh dear tree, please tell me you hear tomorrow say the wild has returned...love this poem
ReplyDeleteI love the sensitivity with which this poem is penned, Sherry 💘
ReplyDeleteI always feel that you have a deep connection to the trees, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful address to an old tree, Rosemary! If we only listened to trees carefully, we could learn so much. They are indeed witnesses of Earth’s history. When I read ‘bears scratched their backs on your rough bark’ an image of Baloo from The Jungle Book popped into my head – trees are so useful and their fairytales are classic.
ReplyDeleteahh, this poem makes me want to curl up at a Big Tree's roots and just sink and soak in the natural wonder, wisdom - a fine place to rest one's head .... I'd like to dissolve in the ages, in the moss, let the roots wrap me tenderly and breathe my last.
ReplyDeleteA fine poem Sherry - like the bear scratching its back - this too speaks with an itch and marking of longing and yet protection - and hope - that we will listen. How could one not wander into such depths of woods and be in awe?
This is so sadly beautiful Sherry. The old trees have witnessed so much. It breaks my heart when I think of all the animals and what they are going through because humans don't value them.
ReplyDelete