There used to be
an old Oak tree out back.
Life drained from it,
it stood strong and sturdy.
As a child I worshipped its
towering stature
and marveled its dominance
of the entire forest.
They felled it
the day of my twelfth birth,
and shattered the mountainous
illusions of my immortal youth.
But it taught me a lesson
as it lay there —
that strength could lax
and dreams be achieved.
Poem by Hugh Findlay
Hugh Findlay’s writing and photography have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, in print and online. He is in the third trimester of life. Instagram & Twitter: @hughmanfindlay