WRITE ON
SPEAK OUT
Maisie 2023 and Chelsea 1998
Young oak
by Maisie
The woman's skin glitters
rough and scarred and beautiful
like tree bark
Her eyes are the sequins sparkling on her dress
The impossible green green of a young oak's first spring leaves
Her hair is the golden sunlight’s leafy accent
dappling the ground with scattered shade
like she would lie in on a summer’s afternoon
as a sophomoric sapling
Like a willow
she wallows
in the ecstasy of sociability
in her flora forest of friends
she stands secure
in the grasp of her old man
He holds her firmly
like the earth holds roots
She trusts him so
because he helped her be young
and he helped her be free
and when the time comes
he’ll let go of me
she tells
herself
She lives in the before-times bliss
where a smoking gun is conclusive evidence
and where the axe is losing your job
Her life is long and lovely.
Maisie has been attending Write On classes for at least 7 years. She has been published in Write On and Redraft.
The Mistress
by Chelsea
A tall lone oak
Stands silently among long grass,
A rope hanging from her arms,
And her green hair rustling in the breeze.
Acorns lie scattered across her kingdom,
Large roots create hidey-holes for her tenants,
Her rough, brown clothes hide smooth skin and flesh,
Her partner sits taller and stronger holding her.
He gives her water, housing and growth.
He is the land.
She is frightened,
Standing alone where there once were others.
The young humans are playmates
Who keep her company when she is sad.
She sings with the wind and fears men
Who bring machines and buildings.
Her life is long and lonely.
first published in Write On 1998
