The Daughter of The Hanging Tree

A Poem by R. S. Morris

Started as a sproutling,

growing big and tall,
Was the envy of the other trees,
who were mostly puny and small.

Was the master of the universe.
The Hanging Tree ruled the land.
The more gifts hung on the tree,
the more respect the tree commands.

The people gathered every morning,
to sing the song the tree lived for.
The more singing and gifts hung,
the tree would ensure they have more.

The hanging tree ruled for decades,
until its branches no longer held weight.
It began to sag and lose color.
The gifts last hung sealed it's fate.

The gifts started falling,
to the ground they fell one by one.
The people falling into despair,
They prayed for a Hanging Tree son.

They had to find someway to save it,
or the tree would wither and die.
There were no offspring to cling to,
they were not ready to say goodbye.

The fertile land turned muddy and wet.
with more rain for months on end.
Food was becoming scarce,
the tree too weak to command.

It appeared that all was lost,
and the people were losing hope.
Knowing all they had worked for,
now dying and and unable to cope.

The hanging tree was now dead.
the trunk half its normal size.
It's branches weak and falling.
They gathered to mourn it's demise.

The people at their wit's end.
Their hopes and dreams now sunk.
When a lad notices what no one had,
a small leaf growing from the trunk.

He went to gather the masses.
They all came running to see.
The small leaf now growing,
on the trunk of the dead Hanging Tree.

They carefully removed the leaf,
and softly planted it in ground.
Every morning they gathered and prayed,
for the leaf to take hold and rebound.

Days turned into weeks,
the child barely hanging on.
Every morning, people still gathered,
holding hands, singing the tree song.

Finally they noticed some changes,
limbs stretching and growing long.
Everyday it got bigger,
the trunk now thicker and strong.

What was left of their gifts,
they began hanging from the tree,
Holding hands while singing the song,
for their dreams to become reality.

Instantly, blue sky started to show.
Plants now rising from the ground.
The dark clouds quickly leaving,
food being shared all around.

Every morning the people gathered,
to bring their gifts and decree.
to give their lives and rejoice their belief,

to the newborn daughter of the Hanging Tree.

R. S. Morris