Dinner at the Big Tree: A Poem

You come each day at dusk,

Silently appearing 

End-of-the-day friends. 

Under a bumpy-barked maple tree, 

Grown from a stick in the ground. 

Twenty-five years later  

Thick trunk, 

Voluminous branches and leaves.

Backing into a crevice in the tree 

Claiming your space

Place of security

Panoramic view of the yard

No surprises during dinner

Free to munch and crunch

Clicking teeth like typewriter keys

Kernels of corn and sunflower seeds

Spill over from the squirrel feeder

Creatures on tiny feet bob around 

A small platform

Chewing fast, 

Anticipating the arrival of a car, 

Or children playing, 

Startling, interrupting 

Mealtime pleasure. 

I watch, quiet and still, 

From my table on the porch.

Furry companions with pink ears

And white, round tails,

I witness your dinner, 

While I rest, satisfied from mine.

_______________

{A special note for Jacquie Reed's faithful readers.... Jacquie enjoyed writing as a way to express her insights and share her creativity but also as a way to more deeply connect with the people she held dear. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the topics in her posts and interacting with her ideas and art while she was living. This post was written and scheduled by Jacquie in the weeks before her unexpected death on November 5, 2021. Her remaining posts will publish every two weeks from now through the end of February 2022. Please feel free to respond with your memories of Jacquie in the comments. May the words she left behind minister to you as you grieve her passing and remember her life. You can find her obituary here.}