Walnut Trees

It was long ago

Over the sloping hill

By the house,

I dug in pits of clay

And lime, deep,

Until I reached

A sheet of stone

And I could dig no more.

I sunk the canes

With fibrous roots

Of Walnut Trees.

Four decades have passed

The Trees have grown

To reach the sky

Their roots have thrust

Deep into the earth

And cracked the rock

Beneath the clay.

For many years

Fall has come and gone

As the wind blew,

I watch the crows

Flutter and squawk

Amongst those trees

That reached the clouds.

For the first few years

They were black and fierce

Louder they squawked

And closer they came,

To look at me 

Through the window glass.

But then, Alas!

The clouds got thick,

Through a blanket of mist,

The black ghosts appeared

But gently they flew in silence

To usher the darkness.

For the end is near

And the time has come

To be the earth that

Nourishes, one more tree.