TREES

By Erika Bluth

 

Those city dwellers, mobile talkers,

Who travel daily as commuters,

as paper readers, platform walkers

and friends of personal computers -

they never saw old Sycamore

dispensing with his two-winged fruit,

which travelled, as in days of yore,

borne by the wind, bound to take root.

 

Come Spring and Summer, green prevailed

along the rails, beside the sleepers;

but our city folk quite failed

to see a tree among the creepers,

that tiny sapling Sycamore

'mongst buttercup and willowherb.

All looked as pleasing as before

beside the rails, beside the curb.

 

Then Winter raced into the field.

All withered, looking dead and shrunk.

Young Sycamore, though, would not yield,

showed off his little slender trunk.

But city dwellers, mobile talkers

still did not notice what they saw;

no paper readers, platform walkers

did recognise young Sycamore.

 

Next Spring so green the banks did rise

with lovely plants, yet little known.

By Summer then - surprise, surprise!

A wood of Sycamores had grown.

Their roots now stretched beneath

the sleepers and lifted up the rails a bit

By fall they had outgrown the creepers

The sleepers rose.  No trains! Oh s**t!

 

The city dwellers were quite furious

to be betrayed by trees, by friends,

Had they but been a little curious

and used their brains to better ends!