Flashes of Inspiration

The Cottonwood Tree

The Cottonwood Tree

Spring came suddenly to the plank-fenced yard of the white wood frame house. Over night the pastel green buds of the ancient cottonwood burst into bright green leaves. Leaves whose slick shiny top surface reflected the light of the noonday sun at odd angles across both the front and back yards. The wind blew, across the yard, as random flashes of light escorted the white cottonwood seeds to the ground.

The cottonwood marked each season with a different mood. Its bent trunk and twisted limbs took on a new personality each season. Slowly the joy of spring gave way to the lathery of summer and then to the sadness of autumn.

The misshapen cottonwood, its leaves turned yellow by the first frost, cast a twisted dark shadow across the front yard. The tree's shadow seemed to transform the rutted dirt driveway and sickly pale grass into rich fertile soil. Outside the shadow, brown dirt and dying grass framed the dark silhouette.

Author's Note: ▼

The inspiration for this story is the cottonwood tree that stood in my Grandparent's front yard.