Tree Felling

Once, whilst out walking with my father

I noticed yonder the remnants

Of the great Elms, whose stumps

Remained rooted to the ground

On which they once grew.

They had been felled. What was left

Could only at best bare

Resemblance to the cemeteries

Where rest the dead.

Where they lay, marked only by

Wooden tomb stones

Yet no indication of 

The souls lost

As like stone they had eroded,

Bark stripped and shattered by

The merciless rain and scouring winds. 

These graves however are not yet filled

The great Elms lie flat along 

The disturbed earth.

Some were piled. Others alone

Close to where they once stood

Proud turrets of the forest

Like the fortresses of bygone eras.

Now they are brought down

As are all great empires of old,

A new might rises, as others fall.

They were once so magnificent, so virtuous

They towered above man and beast.

Lo! beasts became men

Who fashioned tools to craft, to build

To destroy.

These here are the labours of man

They felled the trees that were once so great

And watched over man like guardians of time,

Like mothers and fathers.

We were raised in their shadows

Now they fall in ours.

I walk away. And with my back turned 

I yearn that with vigour

These Elms would rise to heights

They once did reach

To stroke the skies and soak

Up the sun that did feed 

Their lustrous leaves.  

Author's Note

RE-AMENDED EDITION

Reviews

[Dee]

Amazing work James, truly amazing, I was lost in your words from start to finish.. The imagey is crystal clear, and I felt your emotions in the reading..So sad to see our trees end this way.. After reading only one of your works I can tell you have a wonderful way with words and a great gift..
Bravo James...A pleasure to read such fine work.....Dee

[Maureen McFadyen]

Hi James, What a wonderful poem of loss and longing. You truly have a gift!

[John Alexander McFadyen]

James I think your poetry is so awsome. You have it all. The technique, the emotion, thye determination and the style!