There is this tree that stands so tall
I’ve known her face before I could even give her much grace
I never quite cared, for me she was always just there
I’d always see her when I visited her home
Where she stood almost alone in this little outcove
When I came to see the forest that she guarded so carefully
I’d pass her by, too busy to think of her glory or her marvelous story
Even in the night she stood tall hiding the secrets of all
In the fall when her leaves began to fly
She still stayed tall without batting an eye
I can remember the day I went to the forest for the last time
Everything seemed the same
The trees creaked
The birds chirped
And the frogs mumbled to one another
When I left, my head hung low with the weight of the world pressing down
I couldn’t bear to look up so I didn’t see how she was holding the world up for me
It would be months before I could return, the memories too bitter for me to face my new found fear of the forest
But I began to miss the place I used love, so I decided to go to put it all behind me
When I got to the tree
I sat with my back to her and a wave of memories came to me
How she always hid me from the night and how she shaded me from the sky
I began to realize
No matter how the world seemed to turn she was always there to watch over her forest
To cover it from storms and to protect the worms
Now when I come and visit I sit near the roots
Who have been witness to every love gone sour and every broken man’s bower
I look at her bark which shows the story of every wind burn
Every storm
And every bird nest laid upon her arms
She stands tall today guarding over the forest whose glory rests upon her roots
