(a Trijan Refrain)

Writing prompt: The kids always stay away from that tree

The kids stay away from the tree
Found in the empty lot
They roam around both wild and free
But there they will go not
The stories are frightening tales
Filled with horror and moaning wails
The stories are
The stories are
Tales of lynchings and sharpened nails

The kids stay away from the tree
An oak tall in the sun
Leafy branches stretch ’til eyes don’t see
To horrors not undone
The fear it holds affects them all
Causing trembling and babies’ squalls
The fear it holds
The fear it holds
Leads people joined as one to fall

The kids stay away from the tree
A deathtrap speaks its fear
The culture there has ceased to be
Though people feel it’s near
The horrors past come close right now
Though no one is sure just quite how
The horrors past
The horrors past
Come closer than they should allow

(c) 2017 Miriam Ruff All Rights Reserved