by Larry Powers

Created on: August 30, 2009

Beneath a Shady Oak Tree


Old and crooked, it stood yet,
By the pond, casting its shade -
A fixed hallmark, a vignette,
A reminder of days past.

He sat beside a window,
Thinking of another time,
Gazing beyond the meadow,
At the place where they once played.

His brother clung to the limb,
Hanging upside-down, swinging -
Teasing, taunting, daring him
To climb up as high as he.

Once, they sat in the tree's shade,
Alone, after their dad died,
Speechless, crying, and afraid
Of a future without him.

Reflecting in the glass pane
Was the image of his face -
Sullen, listless, full of pain,
Mourning his brother's death.

Staring at that old oak tree
And the special times held there,
He knew it would always be
Etched in his memory.

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