Two Tree Poems

The first poem was written by my grandmother. My cousin and I read it at her funeral in 2015. 
The second poem I wrote at my parents' house in France.
​The photos are of the two ancient oak trees near Glastonbury Tor.

The Great Oak

Great Oak, I wonder what stories you
Could tell if you could speak?
Beneath your branches many feet have trod
And many a secret shared as well.

How many years have you been standing still,
Since you were from a little acorn grown?
How many birds have nestled in your arms 
And how many squirrels will?

Nearly a century I have stood
Two Great Wars were fought
Many a time I have heard tell
The world would be better and people good.
​
Yes many a family of birds have come
And many a squirrel too
But best of all I have shared the sun
And wind and rain and you. 

Margery Greenough. 1974.

​The Tree

Why do we believe
We are better than the tree?
With her toes deep in the soil
And her eyes up to the sun,
She knows her place,
Between heaven and earth.
She knows her purpose,
And achieves it every day,
With her toes deep in the ground,
And her eyes towards the clouds.

Amy Lou Martin. 2005.