Jennospot
70 The Elm Tree
There
used ter be a real big elm tree at the back o' JJ's 'ouse, until it it got
blowed down in a storm. An' thereby 'angs a tale wot Peter St John tells in
"Gang Warfare". Any'ow, this 'ere elm tree were the biggest in
Widdlin'ton. Oi used ter be able ter see it from my bedroom skylight wot is up
in the roof. Actually there are two skylights, one wot looks out over the
garden o' Peter's aunt, an' one from where Oi c'n look out the ovver way towards
this elm tree in Railway Meadow.
Any'ow,
since the elm tree ain't there any more, an' Oi miss it, Oi'm goin' ter write
about it so's Oi don't ferget. It were the biggest tree in the village, an'
that's why Oi fink of it as "The Tree". It were thick, an' solid, an' so alive yew c'd almost 'ear it breavin'.
It swam in the sky, breastin' the wind. There was always a green dimness under
its leaves, even at midday, when a clan o' crows took a rest after swoopin'
around in the air and stalkin' around on the ground, lookin' fer somefink ter
eat fer their cawin' fam'lies up in their twiggy nests.
From moi
evenin' skylight, Oi could see it loike a sombre, undersea monster (ain't
"sombre" a super shadowy word?) drinkin' up moisture from the silent
earth wiv it's octopus roots, loike a seriously solid sponge. Its 'ead would lift
from the knobbly trunk up ter the comin' dark, losin' itself little by little
in the shadows, until sparklin' gleams reflected the stars from its shiverin'
leaves.
Sometoimes
Oi wondered if'n that ol' Elm c'd fink loike us, an' if so, wot kinda thoughts
it 'ad. D'yew reckon it used ter dream loike us? Oi reckon it did.
But now
all its thoughts an' all its dreams 'ave gone fer firewood ter warm our wint'ry
nights. Oi'm glad it lived. Oi'm sorry it's gone, but Oi'm glad it still lives
in moi mem'ry. D'yew reckon it remembers me, lookin' at it from moi sky winder?
If'n
yew'd loike ter read more about this grand old elm tree, yew c'n foind it in
Peter St John's "Gang Warfare": http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WXF5M4
(USA) or http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004WXF5M4
(UK), but Peter don't remember it at all loike wot Oi do, 'cos 'ee lived in a
bungalow be'ind moi 'ouse, an' yew couldn't see the the elm tree from there.
Any'ow,
luv from Jenno.
By the way, don't ferget moi two e-books,
"Jenno's Widdlington", an' "Jenno's Widdlington II".There
ain’t no elm trees in 'em, but they're free: http://www.smashwords.com/b/128813
an' http://www.smashwords.com/b/166979
An' then there's Peter St John's website: http://www.peterstjohn.net/ but it
ain’t got no elm trees in it neither…
