LONG IN TIME AND WITHIN MIND

THEIR branches bare, their trunks gnarled and old.

As I grew up, I found solace in silence,
finding comfort in the whispering breeze.
I cared not for human chatter and noise,
preferring instead the rustling of leaves.

Amongst the weeds, the burdock and the nettle,
stood a tree that I treasured most of all.
Its slender form, its mournful weeping,
soothed my restless soul whenever I called.

But now I’ve lived beyond its years,
and to my surprise, I see its stump.
New willows speak with alien tongues,
underneath the sky that we once shared in thump.

Silent and still, as if in mourning,
I stand before the tree that felt like kin.

:: 03.05.2023 ::