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The Oak Tree

The Nature of All Nature

By John MarkhamPublished 2 years ago 1 min read
1
The Oak Tree
Photo by Daniela Paola Alchapar on Unsplash

It’s the nature of all Nature:

To sprout, to grow,

To become large,

And later to grow old.

A cycle of life,

And death,

Of love in between,

And beyond.

None are exempt

From Nature’s unyielding plan,

Except for those

Who are tragically cut down early.

An oak tree begins

As a tender sapling,

With small bright green leaves

On flexible twigs,

And reaches for the lofty heights,

As he extends wide his branches

To catch the sun.

Without very firm and deep roots

He’ll never survive

The numerous frequent storms.

Yet those thunderous storms

Are vitally crucial

To nourish the young oak,

And develop tough bark,

To protect itself,

To be strong,

Yet flexible,

To withstand the winds

Of change.

And a mature oak tree

Begins to ponder,

About his existence,

About his purpose.

To reflect upon his experiences,

The good, the bad,

The exciting, the mundane.

To regret the painful mistakes,

And to cherish the euphoric joys:

Those many memories

Engraved within its fleshy rings.

He wonders about his seeds,

His progeny, the acorns,

Who have become trees of their own,

Whether they’re planted

In deep fertile soil,

Or suffer

From shallow roots,

That perhaps are his fault.

He wonders if they are happy,

And have found fulfillment,

And joy in their existence,

In their creation.

Or whether the lightning

Of those storms

Have scarred them.

He rues having given them

Less than they deserved,

A poor inheritance.

But there are no second chances.

Only opportunities

For humility,

For understanding,

For humanity,

For forgiveness,

For love,

To cherish and treasure

For the remainder of his years,

And for long after

The wood returns to ash,

And rots within the earth.

For the tree’s legacy,

And his heritage,

His life’s accumulated

Experiences,

And wisdom, and folly,

Continue onwards

In this eternal forest:

The nature of all Nature.

nature poetry
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About the Creator

John Markham

I’m an amateur at writing. I began writing fiction/fantasy as well as poetry as a teenager.

My current stories are about a wizard from Earth named Draco Moonbeam on a clandestine mission in the White Kingdom on the planet Gaia.

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  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarran2 years ago

    Truly amazing and very beautifully written

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