Below The Willow
By: Mark E. Parsons "Mr. Gorgeous"
In an open park stands a beautiful Babylonian “weeping” willow tree. Its thick branches reach far from the trunk and then its thin whip-like tips of the branch droop down. It is as if it were reaching out and crying for recognition for its own beauty. This particular willow stands beside of a pond. Some of the branches reach over the pond. Its smaller leafy branches then stoop low as if to sip from the pond.
The willow stands tall and catches every breeze that comes through the park. With each gust of wind the branches move like streamers. The birds flock to this beautiful tree to mate and squirrels come here to play. The willow is the center piece for this park.
Every year this willow gets the recognition it deserves. Families gather under the tree in the summer, spring, and early fall. Yet there is one day this tree longs for every year. Once every year an old man comes to the willow and sits on the ground in its shade. He knows this tree well and he basks in its beauty. It has been in his thoughts ever since his first time at the tree.
This old man came to this park as a child, but never recognized the willow for its beauty until he brought the love of his life to this park and sat with her under the tree. They had an evening picnic and then sat under the tree watching the reflections of the stars in the pond. That was the day he first kissed her. The first time he felt true love. After that day they always came to the willow.
Today this old man comes alone, only to reminisce. He comes to relive those moments with her. He plays all the memories in his head. He thinks about that first kiss, the day they carved their names into the trunk of the tree, the day he asked her to marry him, and all those days in between. She meant the world to him and he will never let her go.
They were together for forty years and today would have marked fifty. Unfortunately she was taken from him by cancer. She fought hard and suffered for three years until the day she took her last breathe. She asked if he would take her to that spot where they first kissed. She was being cared for in her home through Hospice and they told him she might only have a day or two left. She held out long enough to get one last kiss under that willow. Her last words were, “You promised me everything and somehow, you gave me more. I will wait for you below the willow until it’s your time to come. I love you.”
So today a tear runs down his wrinkled cheek and he waits for the day that the lord reunites him with his love. It has been a hard run and ten years of being without her touch. He prays every night that it will be his last here on Earth. He can’t be away from here much longer. He misses her kiss and their forty years together wasn’t enough because he won’t settle for anything less than an eternity.
Unknown "D's Devil♥" Sexy
- 16 years, 9 months, 10 days ago