Ralph Houston
Goff's Oak
'This old oak tree ', the big boy said,
'The villagers here call Goff's,
After the name of a highwaymen
Who was hung on it till his bones
Knocked together to warn all those
Who passed by not to take
The road that led proud thieves to this tree.'
The little boy looked at the evergreen
That grew in the rounded scars
Of the tree's bunched shoulders, where once
The long gnarled arms had grown
That dandled poor Goff after death.
But when they turned for home,
Past the memorial that stood nearby,
The little boy only glanced at it ;
For the big boy had no tales to tell
Of the silent Cross and the names below
Indistinct in the winter mist.
Page(s) 3
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