Tonight's Poet Corner: Sonnet Solstice #132

The Tree Stopped Growing
by Belinda Roddie

The tree stopped growing in the middle of
the square, and it stayed as a short, stout sprig
of what it could have been. Still, the town loved
its presence. They called it the Dwarf, and big
trees did not receive such fair attention.
One day, a child took a piece of its bark,
and it was rough and thin within her hand.
She dug a hole and buried it, a spark
of hope lighting her eyes. She thought a small
tree would grow just like the Dwarf, and yet no
twig sprouted from the dirt. Her family all
pitched in to find a little tree just so
their little girl could have her own short, stout
tree, which she simply couldn't live without.

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