Ellis, aged 11

If you asked what trees are
people would tell you
in their proudest voices

trees are great beings
who are often lonely
company is all they want
for their souls are sometimes gaunt
because they will always be bound
to the earth, the ground

many of them are cheerful things though
and you should say hello
you don’t have to say it out loud
they are clever things you know

when they are together
they chatter and whistle all night
but they will never fight
their gnarled fingers scraping at the sky
trying to leave the earth and fly

the mighty oak, leader of them all
the weeping willow, whose tentacles do fall
the great pine hailing down spikes
and the beautiful juniper that nobody dislikes

so if you ever feel alone
talk to the trees and they will moan
with joy to be noticed
if you listen carefully they will talk
they will listen to you like a hawk
then you will have an eternal friend
—-
Inspired by a poem called “the dancing disk in the sky”
by Hibaaq Osman