K-MART TREE

K-MART TREE . . .


Judgmental-dismissive labels and tags
are NOT the way to go
And here's a True Tale - it happened to me -
I guess I should know
"You can't judge a book by its cover,"
an ol' guy once told me
I recall what he said, when I get outa bed,
and see, thru the window, that tree

K-Mart...Cheap Tree...A dollar and a half
A thing of beauty? Dignity? Grace?
Please, don't make me laugh
Was I, the moment I saw it,
simply filled with delight?
At its stature? Its promise? No, oh, no
- but, you see, the price was right!

So, I obtained my cheap tree,
and straight home we both went
My tree was . . . pretty pretty -
and I, quite giddy at how little I'd spent
I removed the cheap tag,
just as soon as we arrived home
Then the two of us went just east
of my room, and stood there all alone

Out came the Earth crumbs,
in went the tree
And, at that moment, no one could know -
at that moment, no one could see
What, One Day, that Cheap Tree
would, in fact, become
And, had I not seen her from that day to this,
I'd surely've been struck dumb

For there she stands now,
where she blocks out the sun
Where she hosts herds of birds,
who sing and have fun
Whose branches I trim -
and they're high . . . and it's hard
To care for the largest,
most luscious tree in my yard...

Which says something to me about people
. . . and that tree
See, my tree didn't know
she was tagged almost free
Her value was not reflected
by the tag that she bore
And neither is yours...
Need I say more?

Copyright 2006 - Tom A.B. Taylor (429)