Mantel Seeds (standard:poetry, 1191 words)
Author: Lori	Added: Mar 25 2011	Views/Reads: 2383/2170	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
This is a story about the life of a tree. I hope you stay with it until the end. I'm aware it's a bit wordy. But when you start at the beginning you can't leave something out. It could be my best poem yet.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


you could've called my life complete. 

Jacob would rock back and forth for hours. 

His giggles could be heard from the street. 

I continued to climb high in the sky 

as Jacob grew from a boy to a teen. 

One starry night he craved a heart in my trunk. 

I became part of lover's dream. 

~ 

Sadness turned my trunk hollow 

as Jacob went away to school. 

Four years is too long to wait. 

Oh how my branches drooped and drooled. 

Joy once more when he came home to stay. 

Didn't know it was only for a little bit. 

On his twenty-third birthday, under my shade, 

he and Angelina pledged their lives to commit. 

~ 

A day of glee turned to sorrow 

when the masters didn't return from a trip. 

I didn't understand until Jacob sat under me. 

An exposed root felt the tears as they dripped. 

He and Angelina took over 

the house his parents made a home. 

Never again, I desperately prayed, 

would they ever far away roam. 

~ 

Life continued on and on. 

Years came and went by quickly. 

My proud branches and limbs started to sag. 

My bark became brittle and prickly. 

Neglected by those who used to care. 

My world had ceased to spin and whirl. 

Until a tearful Jacob came to me to confess 

his fear at being the daddy of a little girl. 

~ 

Being the wonderful life giver that I am, 

I had no worries about it at all. 

Though I'll happily admit even I 

counted down the days until that Fall. 

She was a beauty from the get go. 

Like his mother, Jacob would bring her to me. 

Every sunny afternoon you'd find them napping 

underneath the shade of this humble tree. 

~ 

Margret would try to climb me 

when she learned she could stand. 

Never got high enough before being rescued 

by my little boy who became a brilliant man. 

Jacob would toss her in the air and promise 

one day he'd build her a home in the sky. 

Not once did I budge at the pain 

from the nails he pounded into me. 

My sap was washed by the rain. 

~ 

Jacob completed his oath 

two years after his last son was born. 

I became the hiding place for precious things. 

And learned the sweet taste of candy corn. 

The years sped by once more. 

I was full of children and laughter. 

My afternoons were filled with their sliding 

up and down looking for whatever they were after. 

~ 

Then one day disaster struck hard. 

No one would've guessed it was coming. 

The day was bright and clear as usual. 

Out of nowhere you heard a distant humming. 

The wind was so powerfully strong. 

The rain poured down in buckets. 

Debris flew everywhere the eye could see. 

Lightning crashed like blazing rockets. 

~ 

I could see the family in the garage. 

The children crying; the parents white with fear. 

I leaned as far as I dared to shelter them. 

All of a sudden I felt a great tear. 

The pain was nothing compared to 

the agony of falling on that house. 

I tried to hold my unstable ground. 

I was as helpless as a feeble mouse. 

~ 

Down I went into the home I've loved. 

Crashed through the girls' room to hit the floor. 

In one last desperate attempt to spare their lives 

I threw myself to the right barely missing the garage door. 

I felt Jacob grab a hold of a branch 

as Angelina begged him to say inside. 

I'm glad he didn't listen though. 

It was his face I wanted to see before I died. 

~ 

It was over as quickly as it had begun. 

From an lowly acorn to a mighty oak 

is the story of my amazing journey. 

Yet here I laid bruised and broke. 

Margret and the twins gathered around my trunk. 

Jacob and Angelina looked for their heart. 

No one breathed loud or spoke a word. 

The boys prodded where I split apart. 

~ 

With one last loving pat 

they left me there for the night. 

There wasn't anywhere to sleep. 

My girth destroyed everything in sight. 

Sappy tears fell to the girls' pink carpet. 

Not in a million years could I've dreamed this. 

Yes, I wanted to look from the inside out. 

Yet, this wasn't the way I'd dreamed of bliss. 

~ 

Early the next morning Jacob returned alone. 

For a while he couldn't get out of the car. 

I heard his sobs as my breathing got shallow. 

I knew my ultimate end wasn't far. 

How I prayed for one more gentle touch. 

One more Summer day on which I could preen. 

Memories flooded me for just a second. 

Then Jacob came toward me with a machine. 

~ 

The sound it made filled me with dread. 

I instantly knew what must be done. 

The man I loved was fixing to chop me to pieces. 

Hard to believe but I wasn't in the least bit stunned. 

For years I've protected him from storms and hail. 

For decades I cherished him and his wife. 

As he walked towards me with tears in his eyes, 

I knew he was about to end my life. 

~ 

The blade was sharp so the sting wasn't bad. 

With each distinctive cut I heard his sorrow. 

The closer he got to the heart the louder they became. 

Yet I knew he'd save a part of me for tomorrow. 

All the rest of me would be gone and forgotten. 

But he tenderly cut the heart from my scarred side. 

At long last my fondest wish was to come true. 

As a part of the new house's mantel I'd forever abide. 

© March 24, 2011 by Lori


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