Sirfon 22

The tree is broken,

lichen, green, grey and gold

Cover the barkless branches

There are leaves, 

here and there working hard for life

The black horseshoe on the stem, 

Mark of where the leaf failed

An ash, stunted by the sea winds

Broken now by a strange illness, 

It’s future is shown by the pale grey, 

lifeless skeleton lower down the hedgerow

But growing in and around these 

Dead and dying is life, an elder seeking

protection from the salt breezes 

Lichen, rich and coloured

The warblers rest here,

the swallows seek food alongside

The robin chicks search out the insects.

A hare rich in colour and glory runs past

There is never an end in life, 

a pause, a breath, an eternal promise