GRAND OLD DAME

There she stood for 80 years
She quietly watched our laughter and tears
She watched us grow, she watched us play
She grew so tired that fateful day

She was at least 80 years old. She’s been around longer than most can remember. Everyone loved her. And never a harsh word did she utter. She watched as her children grew into adults, leaving the nest, never to return.

Her arms were strong and true. She watched as all sorts of wildlife passed her by. Some stopped to pay their respects. Some didn’t even take notice. Deer, goats, rabbits, foxes, cows, horses, donkeys, and even turtles and snakes. She loved them all.

She especially loved her children – and her birds. Oh, how she loved her birds. And she could listen to their songs all day and night. It was her favorite music. She even served up fruit to her children and birds. And they gratefully accepted her sweet, kind gifts.

But after 80 long years, her limbs grew tired. And all her children stopped coming around. Her birds still occasionally came by, but not with any regularity. She grew lonely and alone. Her time had come. She was ready to be called home. The last thing she heard before leaving this earth was the babbling brook running beside her. She loved that sound and couldn’t think of anything better for her grand send off.

She had a full and long life. She pleased everyone she had ever met, and some she didn’t. I, for one, will miss that grand old dame. She was a wonderful tree. And she will live on through many of us. Now, she will just nourish the earth, just as the earth nourished her.

She was a grand old dame. In her prime, she was one of the finest, largest, strongest fig trees one could imagine. She had a wonderful life.

Go hug your tree. You never know when their day will come.