THE TREE THAT STOOD AND SAW IT ALL

THE TREE THAT STOOD AND SAW IT ALL

I drew a tree beneath the sky,
With branches reaching way up high,
Its roots were deep beneath the ground,
Where silent secrets could be found.

The seasons came, the seasons went,
Through sunshine, rain and time well spent,
It watched the world go rushing by,
While birds flew freely through the sky.

It saw the children laugh and play,
Then watched them slowly grow away,
It saw the lovers come and go,r
And wondered where their hearts would flow.

It felt the warmth of summer days,
Then winter brought its frosty haze,
But through it all the tree stayed strong,
Still standing proud where it belonged.

A thousand leaves began to fall,
Like little letters from them all,
Each one had known a different day,
Before the autumn took them away.

The tree had listened, never spoke,
To every promise, every joke,
To whispered words beneath its shade,
And every memory people made.

Its branches stretched towards the blue,
As though the heavens called it too,
And when the evening sun was low,
It wore a golden evening glow.

Perhaps that tree could talk one day,
What stories would it choose to say,
Would it recall the ones who came,
And those who left without a name?

So I will leave my tree right there,
With winds that dance through every pair,
For trees can hold what people lose,
And keep the memories that we choose.

And when I look upon my art,
I feel that old familiar start,
A simple tree, a world inside,
With roots below and dreams outside.