On the cusp of a hill where the fog rolled in
A seed found root as they often will
Winds of years blowing through
Low clouds touch the sapling’s ground
Bring fullness to a tree as myriad branches grew
The works of man were built despite the tree
Below the hill a road was built
Carriages then cars then freeway sounds
All under leaves that finally wilt
The fog still rolls its moisture low
Leaves and branches struggled until
Against incessant smoggy flow
The smoke and ash a tree did kill
For years the drivers rolling past
Saw the skeleton tree up in the grass
A landmark of wood on the side of the hill
To mark a journey’s end either slow or fast
Bumper to bumper the drivers passed
Or cruised by going fast
Some would note the skeleton tree
And take comfort that it was allowed to be
But someone decided that this old tree
By the side of the road should no longer be
So the saw did short work to make a skeleton tree
Just a stump on a hill no one would see.
But there are some of us who’ll remember still
A marker on the side of a hill
That marked our days and journey’s end
Just an old dead tree in our thoughts had a role
There’s a ghost of a tree by the side of the road
That lost its skeleton but kept its soul
<><><><><><><><><><><><><> 01/17/13
(I wish I had stopped and taken a photo, but I never did)
San Antonio Rd Petaluma, CA 94952
or
9008 U.S. 101, Petaluma, United States
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