And Now For Something Completely Different...

The Girl in the Tree

I saw you once, in the tree.
The trunk had opened enough, for you.
It was summer, and the forest was growing, and it was green.
The green at the end of summer, where
All the leaves are just starting to suspect that
Things might not stay the same forever, I saw you.
For the moment, there and alive.
Or Magic.

I knew who you were, always have, there's no mistaking those eyes,
No uncertainty, no guessing
And never, ever, any doubt.
I would not be here to tell this tale had there ever been any doubt.
For doubt, you know, is fatal.
And there are things you see in the world
You don't wonder about, they are real,
Whatever appearance they wear,
Or Magic.

I knew you long before the tree, this I can remember,
And I've known you long after, for too many years, as men
Reckon time in this world and I know this:
I am the one who caused you to be there, and I am
The only one who still believes in you, there,
But what I don't know, what I do not remember, is if I am a Hero,
Or a Monster, was it love, or betrayal?
Or both?
Or Magic?

I went out today, to the tree, in the snow,
Just when the sun was falling from the sky,
And the moon struggling to rise,
The leaves, the green, were gone, dead, still, and nothing,
No sound, no sign
Anywhere that anything has ever been,
Or will be, again.
I saw the tree, dark, closed and silent.
I touched it, but felt nothing, saw nothing,
Nothing of you,
Or Magic.

I went away then, but I remember this:
I saw you once, in the tree, alive again, or still,
For a moment, there, and known, then gone.
I promised myself I would never cry, again,
So those cannot have been tears, of relief or sorrow or joy or triumph?
And even so,
I have always known the tree will never give up its secrets,
Even if there is much else I have forgotten,
About you.
Or Magic.

Love and Poetry,
Lorraine