His Maple Tree
Ivy (Prose and Visual Arts Editor)
His Maple Tree
Life began for a young tree in the yard of a young mother and father.
A toddler waddling toward the sapling, giggling and drooling,
The father laughed to himself as he steadied his son,
The mother sitting in the shade of the small tree, reading a book.
A soft breeze rustled the leaves of the timid maple,
Making it look like it was dancing for joy.
The toddler turned into a teenager in the blink of an eye
There the tree stood, proud and confident.
A small swing was attached to a branch by rough rope,
The boy leaned against the trunk, legs crossed, listening to the chirping birds.
Mother had bags under her eyes, father had chewed nails,
But their son happily breathed in the fresh air.
Their son threw his red graduation hat in the air with a huge smile.
His mother had tears in her eyes,
His father clapped so hard his hands hurt.
A party soon commenced in the backyard.
The son had wrapped colorful yarn around the trunk of his tree,
Squirrels were chasing each other around various branches.
The son had found love. A strong and powerful love.
The tree was waiting for him. He engraved a pair of initials into the bark.
He stepped back and admired his work, blushing to the ground.
The father asked him about her, his mother about his job.
He answered them, glancing at the letters he had put on the tree.
The maple was now strong and sturdy, standing straight.
The son married and moved away from home.
He forgot about his maple tree, left in the backyard of his old house.
Mother became a grandmother. Father became a grandfather.
The son gazed down at his new daughter, her eyes like crystals.
He held his wife in his arms, his heart filled with compassion.
He left his tree, with the swing and the yarn and the initials.
Grandmother and grandfather were growing old.
Grandfather with greying hair and thick glasses,
Grandmother with a wrinkled face and deep smile lines.
The maple stood patient, waiting for the son to return,
But he never did.
The old swing was rotting from the rain.
Grandmother and grandfather eventually passed away,
Leaving their son and grandchildren behind.
The son, with a heavy heart, visited the house
There the tree stood waiting, happy to see him.
Cautiously, he walked over to it with his daughter.
The daughter looked up into the leaves, arms stretched.
One day, a storm blew by with raging winds.
The maple tried standing firm, roots planted in the ground tightly,
It groaned and swayed back and forth,
But with one gust to strong the roots gave way,
With one last effort, the tree came crashing down to the ground.
The son was devastated.
One spring day years later, the son noticed something spectacular
In the middle of the stump from his maple,
Was a tiny brand new sapling growing inside of it,
Timid yet confident, planting it's tiny roots in the stump of the older maple.
The son was overjoyed and ran to his brand new tree.
He realized that day that when one thing ends, another thing begins.