Poems

Fallen Giant

Some time ago I took a trip to California State,
The tourist guide had urged us there to look.
A tree now petrified for years the guide book did relate;
Five hundred years according to the book

Columbus first had viewed this land in fourteen ninety-two,
The tree was but a seedling at the time,
And so the tree inched taller as the years by quickly flew
Until that noble tree had reached its prime.

This giant of the forest grew to be both tall and strong
And evidence of lightning strikes was there,
The climate changes ranged from hot to brutal winters long
This evidence apparent everywhere.

But nothing could uproot that tree it still stood straight and tall
It wasn’t going to perish of old age,
So what would make this giant of the forest sway and fall?
A lightning strike or changing climate stage?

No, something much more sinister would bring it to the ground,
For deep beneath the tree’s protective skin
The tunnels of small beetles in the trunk could now be found,
They’d eaten ‘till the outer shell was thin.

And then a gentle breeze one day caressed this stricken giant
It shook on weak foundations for a spell,
While telltale cracks would soon appear in trunk no longer pliant
The beetles had performed the tree’s death knell.

And so it is with humankind, some like that giant tree
Grow socially mature and stand tall,
But beetles of deception in their life eat full and free
And weaken even giants ‘till they fall.

“© Copyright Ian Grice 2012 All rights reserved”

16 thoughts on “Fallen Giant”

  1. wow very nicely done sir! You’ve given the story of the tree an art and beauty… despite it’s fall, it’s story will be remembered because of your pen. ^_^

    Like

    Reply

  6. Superb poem sweet Ian. Trees are great subjects for many analogies and you have done well with this one my friend. Hugs

    Like

    Reply

  8. Many threads run through this post –

    How the mighty live and fall; how the small bring down the great; scavengers or workers doing nature’s bidding… and it goes on and on.

    You’ve given much to dwell on, Ian.

    – Eric

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.