If I have my way, my death will come as a thunderclap,
or the slap of a gruff wind that whips out of nowhere.
In the snap of a twig, I’ll be gone.
I who once feathered the summer shade of a quiet street,
shook the rain from my leaves like a wet dog onto twirling
umbrellas below, will not go quietly.
Uncharacteristically, I’ll shout my parting words. I have stood
in silence too long. I will groan and creek as I teeter,
top-heavy after an ice storm, listing dangerously.
Wrinkled bark will buckle. Flailing branches will scratch at rooftops,
snag and snap the power lines. My death will be greedy,
clawing, snatching at anything I can take with me.
My root ball will rip up concrete sidewalks as I topple,
nothing to break my fall, as I yank myself
from the startled earth.
And when I am laid out perfectly still, come close and see
how I have lived. Now you can touch the fingertips
of my furthest branches, tightly clenched buds
about to burst. Note the tender nests I nuzzled and warmed
between my limbs. Hunger of beetles burrowing
in my veins. All the life that I have loved.
Cut and split my broken limbs. Haul me away to be ground
to mulch. And yet I will still be here. One sapling,
lithe and strong, will prove that I have lived.
A lovely testament to the fallen tree. When the great ones fall we all feel the loss of something special. Enjoyed seeing the poem’s repetitive tree structure, and of course, the beautiful use of language. Thanks for sharing.
The words are so powerful you can see the tree, the Ice, the bark cracking,the fall. And then the promise of rebirth. Thank you for sharing your beautiful work. Your book The Glad Farm is equally filled with such lovely prose you feel you are standing there looking in. Looking forward your next book, maybe one filled with your poetry
Powerful words . I see the tree as a woman .
Thank you all for your kind comments!
Like the tree, your words are strong leaving, without apology, their imprint on minds and hearts. Thank you for speaking your truths.
A beautifully wrought poem!
Catherine, “The Elm Tree’s Final Testament “ is an absolutely wonderful poem.
The personification you used made me revisit the many trees that have fallen from Mother Nature’s temper on our home in Concord NH and our yard in Franklin Ma.
From here on, I will look at The Fallen Tree in a very different way.
Can’t wait for your next book!
Celestina
Excellent! I love the range of contemplation on death, from inconsequential “the snap of a twig“, to momentous, “root ball rip up concrete”.