Sic Semper Tyrannis

A Tree

I’ve got a stump in my front yard where a large oak tree used to be
It’s a good thing trees can’t think or cry out in pain
I don’t think this tree would have liked the last few weeks
First, there was the ungodly cold day when everything started to go to hell
(Wasn’t it Robert Frost who talked about the world ending in ice?)
The weight of the ice slowly pulled the tree close to the ground
It hunched like an old, graying widow
One huge branch was leaning on my house to catch some rest
Others snapped off violently and threw themselves across my yard, defectors from a sinking ship
But the huge trunk still stood there, naked in its infirmity
Then came the men with saws to finish the deed

I can’t help but consider the “life” of this tree
By my estimate, it was thirty-five years old
Imagine-
standing in silence
inauspiciously observing a neighborhood:
homeowners
renters
kids
cars
since 1973

That tree probably survived a dozen or so ice storms
But then here comes this self-important homeowner
protecting his investments
What right does HE have to tell me to leave?
I was here first! the tree probably thought to itself
if it was able to think

Good thing it can’t.

posted by Mike @ 9:00 PM