The Old Willow Tree

In the park by the high school centred,

There stood the grandest willow tree,

And its leafy sweep I entered,

Letting my boyhood dreams run free.

With its branches dinosaur thick,

Curving upward toward the sky;

Climbing higher each bend and crick,

On its course bark I learned to fly.

And at the top in its cool shade,

Barefooted in the month of May;

Within my willow fortress made,

Long hours I would while away.

And much I learned from that warm wood,

In these fond memories to keep;

Though then I never understood,

And now for my willow I weep.