"The Old Oak Tree"

JPEG DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (Image & Text 9.5 x 8 – 300 dpi)

THEME: Elegy/Eulogy – Michael Flook

VISUAL THEME: Old Oak Tree

COMPLETE TEXT: "THE OLD OAK TREE"  

The Old Oak Tree 
By Frank Elkins

You are like an old oak tree that appears to have no use:
Too hard and twisted for the woodman’s axe –
Too knurled and knotty for the carpenter’s plane –
Too marred and mangled for the fine furniture of the fortunate.

You were never meant to adorn the halls of power,
nor embellish the rooms of influence.
Your value lies NOT in your exploitation by others,
but in the giving of yourself.

Offering shade –
for those seeking shelter from the hot sun.
Providing protection –
for those shivering from the cold wind.
Giving guidance –
to those languishing lost along the way.

If you had not appeared useless,
they would have chopped you down long ago –
Leaving nowhere for the sparrows to roost,
or the mockingbirds to nest.

Blessed are the oaks,
quietly rustling in the breeze –
Ever reassuring,
those in need.