Old Man Gum Poem by Liberty Smart

Bare, withered branches
Fingers of wood
Point accusingly at the sky
Demanding answers from the Maker
A reason for the pain
Everlasting
Begging for an end
Euthanasia in a split of sky
Take away! Take away!
And bring back the youth of my past
The me who stood splay-fingered in the rain
Revelling in the cool spray from heaven
Bring back the me who stood
Strong against the whip of cruelly whispering winds
The me who valiantly ignored the wash of heat
And the caress of embered fingers over my body

A tortured cry,
Silent as my death,
rings clear
Then I am gone
And I begin to live the oldest dream.