#tree

A GIFT THAT KEEP ON GIVING

 

“I’m going to give you the same gift,” her grandma told her on her 7th birthday, 

“that my grandma gave to me.”  

Then she took her to the backyard and pointed to a tree.

 

“I don’t see a present,” Grandma, “ her granddaughter said somewhat dejectedly,

“Just a big red ribbon wrapped all the way around that tree.”

 

Grandma chuckled. “That’s exactly what I said when my grandma gave it to me

Yes, for your birthday this year, honey…you present is that tree.” 

 

“It may look just like an old tree to you but all throughout the Spring

she transforms into a music box as the birds within her sing.”

 

“In the heat of summer her generosity is unmistakably displayed…

She’ll be there to cool you off by offering you her shade.”

 

“In the Autumn just before the leaves from her depart…

She becomes a thing of beauty…a one-of-a-kind work of art.”

 

“She loves to sleep throughout the winter…as the snows to her bark clings….

So she’ll be ready once again…when you need her in the Spring.”

 

“The more time you spend with your tree…oh the wonders you will learn.

You’ll see she gives her gifts to you freely…hoping only for your love in return.” 

 

“And perhaps the greatest gift this tree will give you…one of the marvels of her creation

is every time you play in and around her…she'll stir your imagination.”

 

“The more comfortable the two of you become…she’ll no longer be just a tree….

She’ll be anything you can imagine…and you…anyone you imagine yourself to be.”

 

“It is our hope…this tree’s and mine.” she said as she gave her granddaughter a lift…

“That one day you will come to understand…how every tree’s a gift.”

 

“And perhaps they’ll come a time when your climbing days are through……

you will give your granddaughter the same gift your grandma gave to you.

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THE SINGING TREE

 

 

She was walking ahead of her parents…feeling innocent…carefree

when suddenly she stopped in front of a tall, old…maple tree.

 

She stood motionless for a moment…her feet no longer moving…

her arms no longer swinging…

“Mom! Dad! Can you hear that?” She asked. “I think this tree is singing.”

 

Birds, shielded by the leaves were singing in the tree…hidden from her view

“Yes!” Her parents smiled. “We hear it singing too.”

 

“When you hear a singing tree,” they said, “listen to its song…

It means the tree is healthy and happy…it means the tree is strong.”

 

“They remind us how there’s magic all around us…you can hear it in their song 

“And we have found they like it…when we choose to sing along.”

 

Then as a breeze began to blow her parents pointed to the tree…

“Now look close,” they said, “ and tell us…tell us what you see.”

Her eyes were centered on the tree…then back to her parents glancing…

“Not only do I hear singing,” she smiled, “but I think the tree is dancing.”

 

This is the memory that visited her today…as she remembers what she had planned

then she reaches down…smiles….and takes her granddaughter by the hand.

 

“Where are we going Nana?’ She asked.  

“Oh, there’s something very special I want you to see….

and as they walked together she whispered to herself….

“It’s called the singing tree.”

 
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LITTLE TREE

 

On an early walk along the beach I was enjoying the sand and the sea when I heard a voice from beneath my feet saying…”Please, don’t step on me!”

 

Immediately I stopped, looked down and wondered aloud…”Who is talking to me?”

then a voice from a twig in the sand answered, “Down here…it’s me…the tree.”

 

“Oh, I don’t think you are a tree.” I said. “Why you’re only six inches tall…

although you look a little like a tree…I believe you’re much too small.”

 

“You silly misguided human.” He replied. “It’s not me but your mind that’s small.

To a tiny grain of sand I am 100 feet tall.”

 

“And by human standards you’re not very tall yourself.” He continued. “Like me with height you haven’t been blessed.  Should I say you are not human because your not as tall as all the rest?”

 

“Good point.” I said as I smiled and got down on bended knee…then moved in a little closer so I could listen to the tree.

 

“Sometimes you humans are so egotistical.” The little tree said. “But I no longer find that surprising. It’s still dark…continue your walk…and come back when the sun is rising.”

 

So I did as the little tree suggested…wondering what more he could possibly teach…and returned to him as the sun was rising…as it began to light up the beach.

 

There was the little tree where I left him…smiling…illuminated by the sun

and I saw by the expression on his face…my lesson was not done.

 

The little tree said nothing…but now he didn’t seem so small…

for his shadow on the beach now stretched over 10 feet tall.

 

He beckoned me to kneel down again…and much to my surprise…

when he pointed up the beach…our shadows were the very same size.

 

“I’ve found in all my time on this beach.” The little tree said.  “In all the years that past…

It’s not my size that matters but the size of the shadow that I cast.”

 

It’s amazing where we find our teachers isn’t it…this morning on a walk down by the sea…my teacher was in the sand right under my feet…

in the form of a little tree.

 
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THANK YOU TREE

 

 

There is this oak tree in our front yard with whom I like to talk…she greets me every morning as I’m about to take my walk.

 

After our greeting this morning…I paused…overcome by a wave of sadness because…I don’t think I ever thanked this tree for everything she does.

 

When I think about this tree…any tree…how quickly I discern how a tree’s life is all about giving while asking for nothing in return.

 

This tree has been around forever…how long is difficult to gauge…because, as she often tells me, you don’t ask a tree it’s age.

 

But all this time has filled her with wisdom…in every branch and leaf and nook…wisdom she will gladly share…if one knows where to look.

 

Under her leaves we have found comfort…it’s where our children and grandchildren played….She helps to clean the air we breathe and has provided us with shade.

 

Her bark has survived all kinds of weather…winds and rains and storms…

and reminds us as we all grow older to be proud of the wrinkles that we’ve formed. 

 

Her roots run deep into the earth…providing her with strength and stability…and remind us how some of our most important parts are the ones we cannot see.

 

Her leaves not only help her grow and add to her beauty…but drop when the fall winds blow…reminding us how love is as important in holding us together…as it is in letting go.

 

So I went back to the thank my tree…for being so important…so valuable…and ever so beguiling….and as I walked away when I turned back to look…I could see my tree was smiling.

 

 

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A CONVERSATION WITH A TREE

You may think this is a little crazy but I think of it as more carefree

When the other day I found myself having a conversation…with a tree.

 

This tree stands next to the ocean…and when I saw him I had to grin

There was an eerie beauty in the way he stood.

The way he was influenced by the wind.

 

I said, “You look a little old and weathered.”

The tree replied, “That is true….I have a few wrinkles on my bark

but then again…so do you.”

 

“I’ve lost most of my leaves,” he said, “as year after year has passed me by.”

I smiled as I leaned against his bark…“That’s funny…so have I.”

 

“But look how strong you still are,” I said,

“Even after all the storms that you’ve been through.”

The tree chuckled and I felt his laughter.

“But then again…so are you”.

 

“I like to think I’m still beautiful.” the tree said as he let out a deep sigh…

“Oh but you are .”I answered quickly…“and I like to think…so am I”.

 

“What is your secret to a full and happy life?” I asked the tree

“what do you recommend?”

“The key for me”, the tree replied “lies in my ability to bend”.

 

We talked a little while longer 

about our branches

About our trunks, our crowns…our roots

About how we love the wind and the rain

and other shared attributes.

 

As I walked away I stopped, turned around

then waved and smiled at that old tree…

And I can’t be sure but I think I saw him wave and smile back at me…

 

And I remember thinking as I left him gently bending by the sea….

 

How lucky and proud I was that day…to have a conversation with a tree.


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JUST A TREE

I informed my neighbor the bad news…that her old oak tree was dying

The old woman nodded that she understood and then she started crying.

 

As I watched her I thought to myself how odd…how silly can this old woman be

I can’t believe she’s crying…after all…it’s just a tree.

 

“My husband planted that tree right after we were married” she said

“He said, like our love we’ll watch it grow…

I can’t believe it’s been so long…that was 50 years ago…”

 

“I suppose you think I’m crazy…and it doesn’t make much sense to you

but our children climbed her branches…our grandchildren climbed them too.”

 

“She’s weathered the cold of winter, her Fall colors would burst…then fade,

she’d always come back to us in Spring and in Summer she’d offer up her shade.”

 

“We had many a picnic under her leaves…sometimes we’d just sit and stare

at the squirrels playing hide and seek and the birds who nested there.”

 

“And when my husband passed away…as my tears ran down her wood

I felt her branches engulfing me…as if she understood”

 

“Forgive me if I cry a little…but she’s been so important to me.

We’ve been through so much together…she’s been part of my family.”

 

And when they came to take her tree away…I knew she’d be feeling blue

So I went to her, I held her hand and asked, “Is it’s okay if I sit with you.”

 

I let her cry…I let her weep…for in the stillness I could see

That old oak they were removing

 

was so much more than just a tree.


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THE TREE

He loved to sit in the shade of his tree

for years that is what he would do…

never for a moment giving much thought

 

to how how the tree was loving it too.


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