The Tree Poem by J. Robert Trebor

the tree
torn,
ragged
from disease
out of a
nightmare
frightening all
when limbs
move without wind
a young child
walking
with his mom
suddenly
stops in
front of the
tree
he points,
laughs,
and yells,
you sure are ugly
without
warning,
a root
rises out of the
ground
wraps around
the child
then...

he awakens
soaked in
sweat,
scared,
shivering
a piece of
tree bark
rests on his bed
a large
painful
welt
circles around
his abdomen
and back

he thinks,

I will
never call
a tree
ugly
again