The Tree

The tree sits silent in the ground where it was planted
And the branches bowed with time, are uneven and slanted
And I look upon it now in the shimmering Autumn haze
And its seems only a moment since my foolish childhood days

I remember the first time I climbed up in the tree
Its was a hundred foot tall, well it looked that way to me
And it seemed like it was living, it was like a friend
And in its branches and foliage my childhood I would spend

In the spring it would be happy as it was clothed anew
And it appeared to cry tears, from the early morning dew
All the branches lifted, like arms thanking the sky
And the spring breezes blew the leaves and taught them how to fly

I would sit in the summer watching sunsets from afar
I would sit there at night just looking at the stars
I would climb the highest branches, then try to touch the clouds
And sometimes sit and watch all the birds that flew around

In the autumn I would watch as the leaves turned brown and dropped
And the naked branches beckoned me to climb right to the top
And with the skeletal branches as cover from the day
I would find my peace and quiet, and wish that I could stay

In the winter I would marvel at branches bowed with snow
And listen as the robins high above flew to and fro
And build a snowman guard to watch over the tree
And brush the powdery snow, from what was a friend to me

Well the tree has changed a lot now and the branches gnarled and worn
And graffiti and slogans on its burnt black trunk adorn
For like me, time has taken its toll on my tree
Though it will always be, my childhood home to me

Jason Cotton
08/01/2002
©Sonofdel 2012