Beautifully Bare

There is a tree

Behind my grandmother's house

A tall and scraggly thing

With leaves only crowning the top

It's quite a thing to see,

To chop it down would be best;

But more purpose

It's life would bring

A romping ground

for a small, young pup

Who digs underneath

It's dead branches

For the older dog

That sleeps the day away

Half in sun

Half in shade

Why take it down

This ugly tree

Whose branches never bloom

and leaves never sway

When it so clearly

Marks the passing years

And the changes

Of life around us

From a small, young sapling

To a full, beautiful tree

To the weary thing that sits before me

How similar life can be

2.20.19