The Tree That Knew Me. Poem by Howard Johnson
The Tree That Knew Me.
My tree will know it all
The tree of my childhood
With the endless branches
And the many whispers
Time that it can only measure
My tree remembers
The boy with the wind in his hair
The boy with the crazy laughter
The boy with the fear of living and of lifes unknowns
The boy I used to be
Before the internet or the mac
Playstation Nintendo and games that attack.
My tree remembers me
Clinbing its branches into the sky
Hung on its strong limb
A swing
Of rope and wood.
Telling me I should
Swing as high as I could
Touch the weightless sky
On the magical piece of wood
I can fly and pierce the sky.
My tree remembers
Red Light
Green light
Outdoor street light
Before
My first crush or even a kiss
Dodgeball
And street baseball
Red rover
Red rover
Please come over
And play
Hide and seek
Take cover
And be meek
In my tree
Is everything I want to be.
Imaganary places
People
Creatures
And mystical things
High In my tree
I can see the world
But no one can see me...
My tree remembers me
The boy I use to be
My tree does not know what happened to me
My life has no room for fasanations of fantasys
Now complacted full of responsibilities
I have no time
To many dead lines
My tree looked at me
And said this is where you should be..
One day I drove hurriedly by.....
The pain of progress has its cost
And my tree has lost its spot
It was no longer needed for shade and play,
And its slow pace way
Was its end.
In my heart that tree and me are not appart.
Howard, this is a fine tribute not only to 'your' tree, but to nature and the pleasures it offers. Sadly some do not grasp the beauty and value of the natural world. Thanks for bringing this poem to my attention.
Hello, Howard: I am here, at your request. I like this one, a lot. Reminds me of my 'Memories of Childhood, ' which I request you read. Again, I noticed some misspelled words. It is of the utmost importance that simple part of writing be correct. Editors hate it (although I am not one of those) . I just want to make the strongest impression upon you I can of its importance. My tree will know it all The tree of my childhood With the endless branches And the many whispers Time that it can only measure I think if you add the word 'someday' to the end of 'all' in the first line, it will read better. The last line 'Time that it can only measure' would probably read better thus: 'Time that it only can measure, with a colon or a hyphen after the word 'whispers' above. 'Telling me I should Swing as high as I could' This is what is known as a 'forced rhyme' and is another no-no in the world of poetry editors. Since this is a free verse poem there is no need for end-line rhymes, although internal rhyme is essential. I hope you have benefited by my review. We all strive to be better poets and that takes a lot of time, study, patience and devotion. best, alicia
this is a wonderful poem. very interesting, though sad! please read my poem 'about a tree'.
Very eloquent write. Imagination could do no more. Kindest regards, Sandra
Hi Howard, This is beautiful - I didn't have a tree- but a special place and understand this completely. Thanks for making me remember.
Hey, what happened to the tree at the end? I'm stumped. -chuck (enjoyed this, captured my childhood, as well) .
I like the way you wrote the poem with personification of the tree.... you brought back memories of how i used to climb the tree in my front yard and swing on the tire swing that we would spin around and around in until we were dizzy
Ahh the joys of childhood. We need to take time to play.. and forget for awhile.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
12/5/2025 1:23:56 AM # 1.0.0
Hello, To me has very much liked your Magic the Tree, Howard... Kindest regards, Tsira