The Giving Tree II
a fan-fiction continuation
…but not really.
After a long time
The tree spoke up.
“I am sorry, Boy,” said the tree,
“but you have given
Me nothing all these years —
You only see me when you have needs,
But what about my basic needs?”
“I’ve been so busy all my life,
With my house, career, and family”, said the boy.
“You haven’t watered my roots once,”
Said the tree, “How am I to stay alive?”
“I didn’t ever think of that, but I’m too old
to fetch water,” said the boy.
“I’m alone in this forest,
You never bothered planting
other trees”, said the tree,
“You cannot grow” —
“You don’t need friends,
When you have me”, sighed the boy,
“Are you really going to ask an old man to dig holes
In the ground and plant new seeds
Which he can’t enjoy?”
“I have given you everything I have to give…
Someday you will be gone, and I will still be here,
alone, again…”
“You should have told me that when I was younger”,
said the boy,
“But now it’s too late for me to do anything.”
“Well,” said the tree, with a resentful voice,
“I didn’t want to tell you what to do because
You seemed smart enough to figure it on your own
And giving is meant to be genuine, not forced — ”
“How selfish of you” said the boy,
“Can’t you see I’m dying here?”
“Well, a pile of dirt is a good place to
die for its from where you came;
Forget about everything else, and lay your head
down to rest one last time.”
And the boy listened.
And the boy died.
And the tree was alone.
And after a long time,
Two girls came back.
And everyday the girls would play
Games of tag around the tree
And gather sticks and blades of grass
And put them in their baskets
And call it ‘Elephant Stew’.
And they would bring tea cups and a kettle
Along with their stuffed animals
And have tea parties with the tree.
And when they were tired,
As the sun would set amidst a pink sky
They would pack their belongings up
And their mother would call them for supper,
And they would leave the tree alone again —
And the tree was ok.
As time went by,
The girls played around the tree more and more.
They even planted a garden filled with
Rose bushes, lilies and hydrangeas.
As the garden became more colorful,
The tree began to heal.
First, her trunk began to grow back,
And her branches too.
Eventually her leaves and apples came back,
But the girls would never pick on the tree.
And one day, when the girls came back
With their stuffed animals
And a few friends
And had a tea party that
the whole forest heard,
The tree spoke up, and said,
“Thank you.”
And the girls smiled back with their mother’s
Strict-seasoned autumn-eyes of grace
As their friends shared sips and giggles
And the tree was unconditionally loved
for the first time in her life.
