| THE TREE |
Eleanor never knew her dad Couldn't picture him at all Though she and Mom lived with his folks And had since she was small She loved the sprawling old white house Love her Mom and Grandma, too But the apple of her eye was Gramps! To her...he'd hung the moon! The old man doted on the girl Who was his dead son's only child The love his heart reserved for her Was at once fierce and very mild He had made it his life's mission To somehow fill the empty space Left by the dad she'd never know And he worked hard to take his place... It was his strong, wrinkled hand she held When she was learning how to walk The first word she ever spoke was Gramps When she began to talk They spent all their time together Every minute that they could To Ellie, Gramps was everything That was gentle, kind and good! He taught her the names of every flower That grew wild on their farm And showed her where the mushrooms grew In the shade behind the barn He took her fishing and to school He helped her learn to read She rode with him on the tractor Watching as he scattered seed! They even had a special place That belonged to them alone In the middle of the meadow Next to a massive hunk of stone Where a giant, ancient oak tree With branches wide and strong Spread out a leafy canopy Providing shade the whole day long Underneath this mighty tree Gramps had hung an old porch swing In this favorite spot they’d sit for hours Tell stories, talk or sing… One day when she was tall enough He showed her the special place Where two low branches had formed a knot Making an empty hollow space It was very hard to notice But you could reach right inside the tree! Gramps said “It’ll be our secret hiding place Just for you and me!!” Emily was delighted And every morning after chores She’d race back to the meadow To see what he’d left the night before! Sometimes it was a shiny apple Or a whistle carved from pine Once it was an old bird’s nest He surprised her all the time! She loved to hear her Grandpa talk And listened raptly as he’d tell The stories and legends of his youth Each night as darkness fell… |
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