Today’s prompt was inspired by Earth Day, which is today. I’m not one to celebrate this “holiday,” but the prompt was a good one. It was simply to write something that had to do with the natural world. Growing up in the country, I was always surrounded by nature. This poem was inspired by my favorite tree on my parents’ property: a magnolia. It was the most beautiful tree there, especially for the several weeks it bloomed in spring. (It was also easy to climb). I hope you enjoy it.

Magnolia Tree
By Nathan Marchand

I hid in the shade of the magnolia tree,
Holding my broken heart as the
Pink petals fell like tears in the breeze.
This, the tree reborn annually at Easter,
Held no comfort for me
Despite its sweet-smelling overtures,
For like it, I’ll bloom only for a short time,
And then my beauty will fall,
Leaving me as common-looking as the others,
Until the onset of winter steals that from me,
And I am left naked and lifeless,
But with no hope of rebirth.

I wept like a widow, mourning my loneliness,
When I heard a man’s voice amid the wind.
“Did you come to cry here, too, as I do?”
I looked up to see a man with a weathered face.
He extended a hand to me, saying,
“The magnolia petals look lovely in your hair.”
Reluctantly, I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet.
He took one pink petal from my hair wiped my tears with it.
“I came to grieve a broken heart, but perhaps
I no longer need to,” he said, and clipped a blossom
From a branch, placing it in my hair.
There, under the magnolia tree, we found our rebirths.