The Gap at Sycamore Gap
A tree, standing alone, next to Hadrian's Wall, has been felled deliberately by a teenager, altering the landscape of Sycamore Gap forever
When I heard that the tree was no more at Sycamore Gap, I felt a sadness at its demise. We had just been warned of Storm Agnes which was approaching the UK with its windy savagery, churning up grey skies and heralding the beginning of colder, darker days. I thought that it was Agnes who had felled the tree but this was not the case. She had other havoc to wreak.
No, Sycamore Gap had a human enemy: a teenager is believed to have taken a chainsaw and deliberately cut it down. Reasons are not clear for his motive at this time but there is no doubt that this act does not come from a place of happiness.
I felt compelled to write about it, like Mike Singleton did, although for different reasons. He lives closer to it whereas I have merely been a visitor, but still, it occupies a significant place in my memories - good memories -and deserves any tribute that I can offer it.
And so, here goes.
***
A tree was felled, a youth accused:
An act to keep himself amused?
It seems a callous way to act
A tree is dead and can't come back.
There was a gap, a sycamore
How did it find the fertile floor
To plant itself in such a spot?
Perhaps wind driven? Or bird dropped?
I like to think it chose it there;
The seed was very much aware
Of how the placement of its trunk
Would please so many with its bulk.
The place it chose has kudos still:
From manifestation of Rome's will
To conquer and resist with strength
Marauding hoards with fierce intent:
The wall will stay across the gap
But a wound's been opened by the lack
Of its solid presence in that groove,
Its attraction continually proved.
Now, there's just a bit of rubble
That section barely worth the trouble:
An historical site without its spread
Of dark green leaves above your head.
I have stood beneath your canopy
A gift that was bestowed on me;
A family trip, three generations,
To trudge and hike in veneration
To a feat of engineering
On the landscape, domineering
For miles and miles from coast to coast
Illustrating Hadrian's boast
That he could protect and drive the Picts
To stay behind stones and sticks.
*
The rain was pelting down that day.
I struggled hard to find the way
Across the gleaming rounded stones;
Hadrian's wall's very bones
Under my feet, a disordered jumble
Designed to make me take a tumble.
My family moving off ahead,
Old men, children, husband-led
Down steep stone paths, prepared to trip;
A clumsy hiker, my ample hips
And confidence quaked with every inch;
But drive I found, at a pinch,
To continue through rain soaked glass
To where you stood proud from the grass.
*
A celebrity tree, a poster tree,
Viewed from afar by tourists many
Solitary; standing in the gap,
Just existing there with no mishap.
Until the day the engine roared
Your beauty severed and easily floored,
To lie in pieces by the wall
No longer the focus of visitors' thrall.
I saw the cut the young man made,
A clean one, golden rings displayed.
I hated it: your insides out
Horizontal, branches out
Limbs splayed and trapped by dirty ground
Unable to float on wind inbound.
I wish it was Agnes who'd brought you down
And not the hand of some human clown;
As something natural occurring
Not slicing blades, oily and whirring
Doesn't seem so bad somehow -
Just Nature and its weather plough.
*
I'm glad I saw you at your best
Summer blousiness, leaves all dressed
And thank you for the shelter given
Protection from rain's steady river.
*
I wish that you could still be there.
I wish that you could still be there.
*
The link to Mike's piece is here too:
Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment. I love to interact with the readers of my writing.
About the Creator
Rachel Deeming
Mum, blogger, crafter, reviewer, writer, traveller: I love to write and I am not limited by form. Here, you will find stories, articles, opinion pieces, poems, all of which reflect me: who I am, what I love, what I feel, how I view things.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Comments (11)
This is so heartbreaking. Your poignant poem is a fitting tribute. Beautifully done, Rachel.
I too have been on that three generation hike, though my children were smaller, and the day was bright. I too felt I might write something for the tree. I was startled though. I had read that Micheal Gambon died and I thought "oh, sad", and then I was working in the garden, and my partner arrived home from work. He told me and I had a visceral response of sadness and anger. I wanted, later, to story it to find some compassion, for my own sake, not theirs, but I've not had my heart in creating this week.
Yes, I read Mike's piece and was so sad! Your poem was a beautiful tribute!
Oh my God. I have tears in my eyes. How could he? Beautifully written-almost feel it could be modified a little for the silent challenge? The tree tells such a beautiful story through you π€
If a chainsaw's engine roars and there's no one there to hear it... If a vandal vandalizes, and there is no mind there to think about it... The pathos here is so well evoked.
This is so beautifully told. Your poem is such a great tribute! We do stupid things when we are kids that, most of us grow to regret as we age.
Fantastic! Wonderfully written and beautiful!
β₯οΈπππ
this is great work you can also join my friends and read what i have just prepared for you
How bizarre. Such a Beautiful tree.. what an absolute shame. Lovely snaps and a terrific poem Rachel.
Thank you so much for this wonderful tribute after this awful act of vandalism, and thank you for the shout out