The Magic Tree - Poem to an Old Friend

My first memory of climbing this wonderful 150 year old Weeping Willow was at the tender age of seven years old one sunny afternoon while picnicking at the nearby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5evYdJOYOg in Sefton Park.

The magic tree has long been a legend where I grew up in the area of Liverpool 8. A pilgrimage for children and disgruntled teenager alike, she welcomes all in her loving boughs with acceptance and fortitude.

The tree has grown in a way that encourages climbing with a spiders web of branches and woody thrones at the top of the tree. Honestly, it is almost like the spirit of this tree has grown the most comfy seats to encourage humans to rest among its leafy canopy.

You can never be sure who you'll meet climbing the magic tree. One balmy sunny afternoon when I was ten years old we met four nineteen year old punks drinking cider 😆 They begrudgingly accepted us until our incessant questions pissed them off and we were glared at until we left.

I remember other times encountering local hippies drumming, Rastas with portable stereos perfuming the air with spliff smoke and sometimes other kids who would inspire massive ten person games of hide & seek.

As time passed I turned into one of those disgruntled teenagers and used to often sit in the magic tree with friends smoking it up with a beer and a bag of herbal produce.

Throughout my life I have returned to the magic tree to climb and sit in meditation. Trees hold a special place in my personal spiritual practice. Their spirit breathes the most settling presence into the environment, and if we listen they can teach us how to live in acceptance.

If you look at trees beyond the microscope of science, in a much broader way they show us a perfect example of living in harmony with the world while attaining all that you need.

Trees have been here long before us, and if we don't completely destroy this planet that we call home together, they'll be here long after we've gone. They sit in harmony with everything around them in a way that humans find difficult.

Please do check out the video poem I made below as it speaks to all this so much better than I can in simple prose.

All pictures were taken in and around the magic tree, the animation was a labor of love (it took me two days to get it right) using GIMP & AdobePro.