The Elm Tree Cut Down In November 1971. Poem by Andrew Lees

The tree that stood for many a day
That weathered the storms that made it sway
I’ve climbed your great trunk and looked far and wide
You majestic tree that none could hide
Many a bird has built its nest
Or stopped on its homeward way to rest.
Four hundred years you looked serene
A very long time to survey the scene.
And now at last I see you no more
I can’t hear the winds in your branches roar.
Dutch elm that dreaded disease
That has attacked so many trees
Has sent you to a terrible doom
I saw you fall, I saw you swoon
Goodbye great tree I’m so forlorn
Now that you are burnt and gone
But I will always think of you
As the greatest tree I ever knew.

Cecil Lees 1980