Ode to a Tree Stump

Sue Nethercott
2 min readMar 31, 2024

It is nature’s way to give back. Not so all humans.

a tree trump covered with moss and ivy and surrounded by raspberries, hawthorn, etc.
a tree stump — Sue Nethercott

Ode to a Tree Stump

Were you cut short in your prime?
I don’t know — ’twas before my time.
But even in death you still give
Support and substance to those who live

Mosses and lichens completely cover
And ivy clambers up and over.
Mushrooms peep out and puff their spores
Whether sun shines or whether it pours.

A hawthorn sapling has shelter found
And fruit canes gladly gather round
The sapling will grow strong and tall
Because you’re giving it your all.

Oh tree, you’re an example to us all
You may be short but you stand tall.

Verse to a free Trump

You somehow keep going though past your prime
It’s way past time that you did time
You claim to be rich but get others to give
You have the morals of a spiv.

Perhaps you were stunted as a kid.
You’ve had a lifetime to get rid
Of your selfish ways and stop the lying
But clearly you weren’t even trying.

You cheat your workers, your businesses fail.
For insurrection you should be in jail.
You love dictators, hate the rest.
At preaching hate you are the best.

Oh Trump, you may be o’er six feet tall
(right!)
But as a human you’re so small.

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Sue Nethercott

Open University BA, UMIST MSc, OU BSc Environmental Studies. Interests: environment, COVID19. Double #ostomate. Thom Hartmann’s newsletter editor. Views my own.