The Shelter Tree

I watch him
A young man stares up into the sky
He is waiting
Waiting for love, I think
He sits there, on that large rock
His curiously blonde hair hanging
Loosely to his cheeks
I hear his sobs
And watch the tears fall
My branches sway with the wind,
The whole forest creaks
The man leaves at sun down
Always returns at sun up
He waits all day, sometimes
Pacing, lying down, but he mostly sits on that rock,
his lean back resting against my trunk.
He eats slowly
Makes two trips to the nearby spring
And fills his jug with crisp water
Who is he waiting for?
I wonder and rustle my leaves
I hear him mutter to himself
‘She’s dead, she died. They killed her!
Please, no, she can not be dead!’
I grieve for him
This boy
Who seems so lost, so fragile
Missing this unknown girl
He can not live without
He comes everyday for two weeks
I grow to love him
This lost soul, with silver-y blonde hair.
The last day he comes
Is cloudy, windy, wet
Still, he sits on the rock
Clinging to his black cloak
I try to shield him with my leaves
Then, I hear it.
A voice calling
The man jumps up and calls back
A grin appearing on his face
Out of the trees comes a woman
Her brilliantly red hair flying behind her
She cries out at the sight of him
She throws herself into his open arms
The man places his hands on the sides of her face
Bringing his lips down upon hers
Kissing her thoroughly
The clouds break and rain pours from the sky
They do not part.
The girl finally pulls away, gasping for breath
And laughing in the rain
The man leads her under the shelter of my leaves.
They wait out the storm
Under my shelter
When it finally ends
The man pulls out a knife from his cloak.
Gently he carves something into my trunk
When he finishes he stands and stare up into my leaves
‘Goodbye tree, thank you.’
He grabs the girls hand and
Together they disappear into the trees.
I never see the man again
All I have left is a carved in heart,
The initials
D+G
Gracefully carved in the middle.