Tallow Tree

One of your relatives sprouted behind my house Cut it down twice...fat chance Ended up damaging my half paid for home I wanted revenge, so I resorted to torture Dug up and hacked roots; soaked oil and poison No dice...stripped off all the bark at the base Well THAT did the trick...dead inside of two months Fell flat on its ass (I helped a little) Sucker almost got me on the way down Guess it was taking one last parting shot... Then I moved back up to my native state, out in the woods with no other house in sight Found you in a perfect spot in the back yard Basically no trunk...just huge thick branches, grown out at about forty-five degrees; perfect for great-grand's to scramble up and sit ("Look paw-paw, look at me!"..."Be careful!" I fume) In the spring you bloom green-yellow flowers In summer, assorted butterflies and bees It's September now...you're growing shiny berries which will mature, then the walls will peel away and there you are... tiny white Tallow seeds used in Asia to make candles and soap and oil; nature-made vegetable oil Your leaves are used as herbal medicine; topical ointment to treat skin ailments Your American nickname is "Popcorn Tree" And I'm not going to lay one finger on you...