Troy Yuksel, Fuquay-Varina, NC 

"The Meadow"

Deep in a forest, out in the wild,
The sun shining, with heat quite mild,
Lives a somewhat short and young tree,
That wishes everyday, to be free. 

"Among all these trees, so big and tall,
With my height, behind I fall.
I wish to emerge from far below
And someday overlook the fabled meadow."

"I want to escape this place in the dark,
And grow some strong sturdy bark."
Over time it began to grow, nice and tall.
But also developed a fear, that it might fall.

Not too far, was the sound of chainsaws.
"Don't kill them! Those are my in-laws!"
But the saw-wielding men continued their raid,
They didn't care, they wanted to get paid!

"Please, just give me a little more time!
What you all are doing should be a crime!
Just let me overlook the meadow and all the trees,
From high above, I want to feel the fresh breeze!"

With lots of nutrients and plenty of willpower,
Grew the tree, and soon was tall as a tower.
Its height nearly matched all the trees around,
But then it heard, the awful and dreaded sound.

While its goal was extremely close,
The end of the tree's life had arose.
"I beg you sir! I am nearly there!
I've gotten so far, this can't be fair!"

The tree felt the sharp saw blades at its base,
It tried to inch up further, and pick up it's pace.
"Please let me reach the top before I die!"
The struggling tree said, with a profound sigh.

Just as it got up high enough, getting a view of the sky,
This was also the time for the tree to say goodbye.
Down the tree fell, falling far below,
For the logging men, it was quite a show.

Waking up, feeling peculiar and weak,
The tree was now a chair, chic and sleek.
But there it was, the fabled meadow!
Covered with flowers, vibrant and yellow!

The chair overlooked the meadow atop a front porch,
With the sun shining, and feeling its scorch,
Rocking its life away now, the chair said:
"At least I can see the meadow now, until I am dead."