Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Old Tree


"A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair ..."

Okay, we can forget that shit. This tree is gnarled with age
and shows the scars it's earned every step of the way. 
A red-tailed hawk maintains a hunting lodge 
in this old mulberry tree's matted tresses, and her leaves flutter 
not so much with the promise of a fuzzy bunny popping
out at the trunk, as it does a threat, a feral warning 
to not disturb her residents. As proof, the bright pink remains
of a pterodactyl hang, fatally snarled among the branches.
This tree, quietly inhabiting the center of the Coke Field
is one of the most feared of it's kind ...


... the dreaded Kite-Eating Tree!
Be afraid, be very afraid!! Aaaarghh!

3 comments:

dive said...

When I saw the gnarly old mulberry I was captivated by its beauty, but then, scrolling down, the terrible truth was revealed.
Thank goodness Charles Schultz is no longer around to witness such horror.
I wonder if Charlie Brown ever had kids … maybe this is one of their kites.

irinapictures said...

This old tree has many scary stories from the past to tell us.

Speedway said...

Hello, Dive and Irina.

The tree is the solitary inhabitant of its section of the field which is used during the race season for parking and camping. The field is about 2 miles around. The creek I like to visit bisects it. One portion is a Coca-Cola bottling facility. It's a great place to let dogs run and fly kites and frequently used for both.

Yes, the old tree is both beautiful and scary. A hawk soared out of it as I approached, on his way to troll for mice stirred up by the tractor mowing another section of the field; I saw 2 of them gliding in circles above the mower. looking for movements of tiny critters.