“A Tree”
Judy Belash
It’s an old tree
It’s quite an old tree
It’s a very old tree
It’s ancient
Its roots rule the sidewalks
Its branches bang on the roofs
Its trunk is worthy of Georgia O’Keefe
And its leaves echo Joyce Kilmer
When it was planted there was no thought
As to how long it would last but surely 100 years would go past
And it would continue to grow and to put on a glorious show
In the spring and in the fall
You can love that tree but be wary
Time can make traps for us all
The dislodged bricks like past mistakes
Will show us no mercy as we fall
You could cut it down, dig out the stump
Put a new sapling in its place
Banish the past as over and done
Call it history
I think not, it’s a tree after all
Thanks to Judy Belash for sharing her poem and photos, reproduced here with permission. Nantucket’s historic trees contribute to the special experience of walking along downtown’s streets. Many of the trees were planted following the Great Fire of 1846, and Nantucket is one of the few places in the US where elm trees that predate the early twentieth century introduction of Dutch Elm Disease to North America still thrive.
