The Weeping Willow Tree Poem by Jim Yerman

They found the owl…this morning…"Look! " the young boy said.
On the street in front of their house…a little owl was dead.

"What are we going to do? " the boy asked as he got down on one knee.
"We're going to take a walk", Dad said, "to the weeping willow tree."

He reached down and picked up the owl…as gently as could be
then they walked down to the lake and sat under the willow tree.

"It's time you learned this tree's secret." Dad whispered. "Shhhh…don't make a peep
It is only in the silence one can hear the willow weep."

The son's face beamed when he finally heard it and he asked his father…"Why?
Why is this tree so sad…what makes the willow cry? "

When we feel pain or sorrow, when we're hurt or when someone we know dies…."
"These are some of the reason", Dad said, "some of the reasons why we cry.

"But when a rock or tree or a little owl dies…who is there to moan? "
"Who is there to weep when parts of nature die alone? "

"That is where the willow comes in…with this job she has been blessed."
"While we weep for those we know and love…she weeps for all the rest."

"When a tree falls in the forest, when a baby owlet dies,
when a rivers dries up or a star stops shining…this is when the willow cries."

So the little boy and his dad picked up the owl…as gently as can be
and buried her in silence…under the shade of that willow tree.

"She will be well protected here." Dad said. "our promise to nature has been kept."
and in the silence of that moment…
they joined with the willow
while she wept.