Another Loss

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. ~Martin Luther, German professor of theology

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A knot

Just big enough for a little girl’s rear

To sit astride, pretending she’s riding a pony.

A hole in its trunk

Ideal for concealing notes and trinkets

Meant for sharing with friends.

A canopy of shady branches

Perfect for three girlfriends to lie beneath

And find pictures in the passing clouds,

While whistling with the helicopter seeds.

Four trunks wide enough

To camouflage two Hide-n-Seekers

Watching ‘It’ and gauging when

It’s safe to race for Home.

Halloween brought friendly mischief

In the form of toilet papering,

That rite of passage in small towns

Delighting teens and vexing parent cleaner-uppers.

Countless birds and squirrels

Made nests and raised young here.

Cats became frozen statues at its base

Waiting and watching for something to fall down.

Mother Nature can be wrathful

Whipping up a wicked summer storm

That fells trees and costs homeowners

Not only money but memories.

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Note: This Silver Maple sits on the property line between our house and our next-door neighbor. It was immense when I was a child, and part of me expected it to live forever. Sadly, a storm thought differently — two years after Domer’s Sugar Maple blew over. R.I.P., old friend.