Meanwhile, Melody Muses…

They planted Tree the year she bore baby Jim;

Now when they see it, they think of him –

His quiet ways, his shy boyhood smile,

His fresh-scrubbed face when he walked down the aisle.

Tree has survived the worst of the past;

Lightning’s wild strikes, tornado’s fierce blasts.

Now Jim is gone, his sacrifice through;

Tree lost its soul when they got the news.

Twisted and gaunt, it stands on the hill

Waiting for Jim; it is waiting there still…