I listen dutifully as he speaks of forestry.
A soft breeze whispers in trees
And I am far away where wind plays
Through the forest and through me.
I listen dutifully as he speaks of forestry.
A soft breeze whispers in trees
And I am far away where wind plays
Through the forest and through me.
When a young lady known as Dawn
Went and swallowed acorns on the lawn,
And they said to her, “dear!
Trees will sprout from your ear!”,
She said, “pardon!”, and swallowed another acorn
In my adulthood
I passed by the tree
Well known to me
In my childhood.
It stands by a path
Where many have passed
That old tree
Without a glance or sigh.
Our lives move fast
As we rush to catch
Some form of transport.
And we all are caught
In time’s great web.
All our loves and lusts
Must turn to dust.
And even this great tree,
Which will outlast me,
Will be dead
Sitting on this fallen log
With my dog
Nearby, I touch the reality
Of this tree,
Which once stood
In this Great North Wood.
It’s brother trees still stand
Their canopy shading me
From the evening sun.
Others will come
And sit or stand
In this place
When this old fallen tree
And you who
Now read me
Have vanished without trace.
I know that these trees
Are older than man
And the church
Which so many men pass
Without a glance
Or sigh
Hurrying by.
There is comfort in this tree,
For it was here before me.
And will stay
When I am clay.
To comfort those who pass
Along this self-same path
A few, perhaps
Gazing at this tree
May remember me.
I laugh,
For a tree
Has no vanity.
A tree branch, bowed
Half blocked the track.
I did not turn back
But ducked under.
There it stands,
Guarding the path.
Bowed by the recent wind.
Nature will have the last laugh,
Whether this tree
Outlasts me,
Or no.
Oh churchyard tree
You will outlast me
And your branches provide shade
To lad and maid,
Though I go below.
Yet, in the end,
My churchyard friend,
Thee and me
Having our lives run
Must both succumb
To mortality.
As someone who was born in the city of Liverpool, I was delighted to learn that Liverpool’s Allerton Oak has been crowned Tree of the Year.
The BBC reports that the tree predates the Norman Conquest of 1066, and legend has it that a medieval court was held under it’s spreading branches. You can read the BBC article here, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-50141031.
I am a lover of all trees and, in particular oaks. You can find my poem “The Girl and the Oak” here, https://kmorrispoet.com/2016/01/03/the-girl-and-the-oak/.
A tree grows
It’s branches entwining
With another tree,
Forming a canopy
Under which pass
A lad and his lass.
Seasons pass
And sapplings grow to maturity,
While the lad and lass
We did see
Forever lie
Under sky and tree.