A fable of love and loss

Evergreen

Precious love

Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash

I came across an ancient oak
which had refused the Fall,
his neighbors bare. When asked, he spoke,
a voice meant to enthrall:

“I care not for the seasons, child,
nor for the Day or Night.
How hot, how cold, unpleasant, mild,
a time was, I’d delight

in every variance and change
but I no longer care.
When nothing’s new and nothing’s strange,
why would I have to bare

my mighty branches to the wind
as if I stand in awe?
Go tell the seasons to rescind,
go on and tell them so.”

I asked the lush and sprawling giant:
“Don’t you know regret?
You stand there, mighty and defiant,
as the seasons let,

but have you ever loved another?
Standing all alone,
no acorn you can call a brother,
tired and overgrown,