The fire burned hot
the memories of the stately tree wafting skyward
up through the chimney
to eternity
A century of shade and thousands of nuts
gathered by humans, squirrels & birds
is no longer
Farmers planted the tree
an English walnut grafted onto black walnut rootstock
finally yielded to its dark cousin
It stood the comings and goings
of several families
including my own
On lazy summer afternoons
my little boy would swing on a tire
suspended on a rope from a thick limb,
or splash in a blue plastic wading pool
Under its drooping canopy
Its fate?
the rot of aging
turned asset to hazard
The tree tumbled earthward to the whine of a chainsaw
in a matter of minutes
What remained?
A huge stump and stacks of firewood
waiting to feed the woodstove
After two years my sorrow has dissipated
Two young saplings replaced the tree
Light fills the spot where it once stood
I stand close to the fire on cold winter days
reveling in its warmth
photos by pixabay & the author
As also seen on byalannapass.com
Poet's Corner 