My Life A Leaf Grower

My years began here uneventful
Early, I struggled through undergrowth
Fought to reach light
I grew strong and bold like my neighbours
I felt seasons with an intrinsic delight.

Spring tingled through me
I would rush to meet warming sun
Reach out my budding boughs
And rejoice at visceral changes.

Summer brought new life
Animals to sing and flutter
Squirrels to scamper and jump
My leaves full and lushly green.
I was in my glory.

Then cool nights would come
And with that I would pull into myself
Letting my leaves change their colours
Vibrant orange and red
I loved my new look
But winds would pick up
Leaves would be ripped from my boughs
And I could not help feeling a certain sadness.

Left bare, I would despair into sleep
Pull myself deep as I stood among my brethren
Facing Winter's vile chill and damp snow
I longed for Spring and dreamed she’d come.

This continued for many seasons
Like a tide back and forth
Through growth and decay
Never once had I imagined
Anything to break this ebb and flow
Until one day I heard a strange rumbling
Grumbling and heard tearing and ripping
As earth shifted and trembled
I saw my neighbours fall
And I could hear their screams
As they were pulled from their roots
Massive machines trudged through
Uncaring as they plowed forward
Leaving a destructive wake behind them
I trembled awaiting my fate.
But they moved past
Now I stood lonely.

We stood far apart wondering why this had happened
As we watched strange creatures take to building
Large structures in our midst.
No longer a forest of my youth
Now I heard whispers
"This was suburbia".

49 Lines.

September 23 Prompt ▼

Prompt for: Sept 23, 2015 (Ren)<---Fyn got it!
Subject or Theme: Trees: Personification. BE the tree! Ancient, a sapling? Standing, fallen? Part of
a grove or standing alone, in a forest or out on a savannah? During a specific season, perhaps or all four. Where are you? Who or what rests on your branches? Let me know what YOU feel, think, want, need, like or dislike. React as the tree to snow or falling leaves or the logger, changing seasons, react to weather, etc. Show emotions. Again, I say…BE the tree!

Word(s) to Include: visceral, intrinsic, damp (or any derivatives of these words)
Forbidden Word(s): tree, bird, the, on, of, (or any derivatives of these words)
Additional Parameters: type of tree in title. Min 24 lines.
Remember, do not use forbidden words ANYWHERE, including title or the brief description.