Disclaimer: I do not own the concept of Ents. Nor do I own any of the stores mentioned.

Author's Notes: A sad little poem that came to me on a drive home from somewhere. We started in the country, and as we passed along, the forests disappeared, there were heaps of chopped trees piled on the ground, and there were all these signs for coming stores. It made me sad. So here's a poem.

The Ent That Wept

I stood upon a hilltop

On a dreary winters' day

All around me were the houses

And the busy urban fray

So I set myself out walking

Though the wind was stiff and cold

I sang songs I once remembered

But had passed in days of old

Past the stoplights and the pickups

Past the road signs and the trucks

Overhead the clouds were clustered

Broken by a flock of ducks

Over pavement of a parking lot

The supermarket looming

Past the Hy-Vee and the garden store

In winter, no buds blooming

Another neighborhood goes by

I don't slow down my walk

The wind is blowing harder now

It stirs a roosting hawk

And still away from wilderness

Of urban jungle clamors

Where car horns honk and squabble

And noises hit like hammers

But out into the fields go I

Into the land beyond

I spot the dirty drainage ditch

That used to be a pond

This is the place of promise

And the signs are plain to see

'Under Development' they say

That makes no sense to me

'Soon to be McDonald's'

Boasts a sign in full display

While another loudly argues

'Super Target on its' way!'

At last, I reach a stop

Among the signs and grass

And wonder what the hills will be

Replaced by steel and glass

There used to be a forest here

I saw it from my door

But the houses ate the trees all up

They aren't here any more

In the distance, there's a battle

And a final desperate fight

I can see the forest struggling

As the final trees unite

They cluster for protection

Safety in numbers, I see

Cluttering the bleak horizon

With their efforts to stay free

But the bulldozers are prowling

And I see that they are sleeping

They're sitting idle now

But over past days they've been creeping

Moving stealthily and swiftly

The moment I turn my back

They're relentless and unstoppable

And ready for attack

Their disastrous efforts showing

I can see the land is bleeding

Trees are piled in heaps of carnage

Empty winter branches pleading

The wind is stiff and bitter

And it moans for all the death

But the forest's slowly dying

It is on its' final breath

As I shiver from the freezing air

Huddling against the chill

I think I see a something

Looming over on that hill

It's a long, long way away

But I'm almost sure I see

Standing tall amongst the carnage

There's an Ent looking at me

His head is large and gnarly

And his hands are broad and long

He has legs as tall as phone poles

And his feet are flat and strong

He is standing on a hilltop

A hilltop just like mine

And we hold each others' gazes

O'er the land that once was fine

There are stumpy trunks between us

Where a forest used to stand

He lifts a long and knobby arm

And stretches out his hand

Now he speaks from past the ages

From a day beyond my years

And his voice is full of sorrow

Deep and rolling, full of tears

"Where have all the trees gone?

Where's the forest once I knew?

Has a mighty fire consumed them?

Or has someone struck them? Who?

Once I walked among the maples

Once I strode among the oaks

Once I conversed with the trees here

And for many hours we spoke

Now the hillsides here are empty

And the trees are thrown in pyres

Not for any decent purpose

Not to heat a persons' fires

I lament for all the trees now

For I slumbered with them long

Long ago I took my roots here

Back when all these trees were strong

I have slept for far too long it seems

The world has passed away

Though this land was rich and fertile

Now it's slid into decay

Such a shame it is, a shame indeed

That all dreams away now fly

Where there should be boughs and branches

There is just the empty sky"

Then he stopped his lonely mourning

And he paused a while to sigh

A tear from all eternity

Slid from his dimming eye

He shook his head at last, at last

And looked across the hills

I met his gaze again; the sadness

Was so deep it gave me chills

Then he turned his back on all the death

And began to walk away

He did not once look back then

Just stayed set hard on his way

I was sad to see him go then

And my heart began to weep

As the last of the Ents that lived here

Went off to eternal sleep

My throat closed up with tears

Or I would have called him, loud

But I watched him disappear

Swallowed up by wind and clouds

Now he's gone, he's gone forever

And there's nothing I can do

I wish I could replant the trees

Or go back in time, it's true

But the deeds' been done, the trees are gone

The Ent has gone away

And there's no one left but me here

On this dreary winters' day

So I stand alone in sorrow

With my eyes pinned on that hill

I wish, I wish he would come back

I know he never will

The wind is blowing fiercely

And my hands are getting cold

So I also turn my back upon

The lonely hills of old

For the briefest moment I can see it

Like it was those years ago

I see trees and birds and creatures

Green and full of life to show

But the wind strikes even harder

And the dream is blown to dust

There is nothing left to do now

Love of trees has turned to rust

So, weep for the trees of yesteryear

In ages when they grew

Has a mighty fire destroyed them?

Or have they been killed? By who?

Now the superstores are spreading

My winter walks are on my own

In my mind I see the Ent with me

The Ent that wept alone

~ The End