Oh Solitary Tree

“Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky.”
–Kahlil Gibran

I came across this quote the other night and it spoke to me. (I even taped it to my laptop so that I can read it every day.) If you know me well, you know that I have a thing for solitary trees. It started several years back, long before I met my husband, when life seemed hopeless and bleak. I began to see myself in these trees. I love their beauty. I love their strength. I love their steady, independent durability to withstand whatever life (and nature) throws at them. Just like I did way back then, and even now, I hope. So, I thought I would write a poem in honor of my solitary trees. I’m not really a poet, but it seemed apropos.

A life begins, a small and lonely seed
Upon a vast and desolate field
Slow growing among the weed
Sturdy bark and branches do shield

Time and Mother Nature tested
Through endless days of hot, then cold
Never wavering, never bested
A quiet beauty to love and behold

Summer, fall, winter, spring
The years and years fly by
With ne’re a friend to share a fling
And no tears left to cry

But a new day dawns and across the way
Another seed takes hold
And tangled roots do start to play
So buoyant, so blithe, so bold

A new and abiding love begins to flower
Where once a solitary soul did stand
Independent and strong, yet dour
Now stands two, heart to heart, and hand in hand