The Tree

Standing lonely in that meadow there
You’ll find an old oak tree
His roots are deep and his crown is full
And just as tall as he can be
Now there is nothing too amazing here
To the average passer-by
But this old oak has many tales
If you’ll look with careful eye

For example if you’ll notice
Where his trunk has grown apart
Carved neatly with a pocket knife
is a simple shapened heart
Tattooed there forever
Viewed clearly in his bark
Is the memory of a yesterday
When two lovers left their mark

And just off of his largest branch
Hung with a father’s expertise
A simple children’s tire swing
sways gently with the breeze
And sometimes when the wind is right
When the breeze just licks the ground
If you’ll close your eye’s and picture it
You can just make out the sound
Of the children as they swing there
And laugh threw out the day
Oh, the joy this old tree felt
When the children came to play

But, now his story changes
And from the corner of your eye
You see it there tied carefully
Just about knee high
A single yellow ribbon
Tied neatly in a bow
Left there by a solder’s wife
From many years ago
And the old oak tree remembers
How he shared the wife’s concern
And how he often prayed with her
For the soldiers safe return
The worry that he felt
Is a hard thing to convey
But you can tell by how this tree stands tall
That soldier found his way

Yeah, there’s many tales to be told here
In the heart of this old tree
Life times to be shared with us
If we’ll only look to see