Waking Up To Ashton Poem by Denise Hart

I hadn't noticed your great strength or your inner beauty
As you stood there while I looked out of the window
Changing as the season took you from light to dark
As the leaves fell away from your limbs
And the buds started to appear, dark and soft

I awakened in the Winter, while you were still asleep
Studying you in the early morning for many weeks
Like a lover awakening to her soul mate
You came alive as I nestled into your trunk
Photographing you from afar and naming you
A masculine name was fitting for such a king

Ashton, you became my companion
While I studied you intently
Watching as you attracted birds and bees
Looking through your eyes at your surroundings
Listening to the symphonies of chirping and bleating
And other country sounds whistling around you
Reverberating through your trunk

As we grew together I connected with your energy
Entwining in your peace and wisdom
Feeling your new growth as it burst through the buds
Alive and green, buzzing with bees
You've grown me as you did your buds
Stirring my soul with eagerness and learning
Not just an Ash, my Ash, Ashton the Great.