Forever a Tree

Many stand beneath my branches to shelter From the rain But never in a thunderstorm for lightening to fry their brains Amid my leaves birds build their nests their chirps and whimpers joy to my breast Against my trunk lovers lean or carve their names While young ones use it for target practice ,such a shame Upon my roots above the ground the hobo spends the night Fanned by leaves forever dancing in the wind. Loggers come with sharp tools that hurt To chop and slice my limbs or log my torso off. A murdering lot they are yet my life's not over yet I still have surprises up my sleeve to amaze them you bet. I become beams and benches in mansions and schools I bask in sunlight as a gazebo by a pool. I sail the seas as a ship of rare design And wonder if man realize that trees never die. They only take my life to another place and time While my young shoots become trees again by and by.