We carved our names

We carved our names

Inside a heart

Cut deep

Into the bark of the old oak,

The noble one

At the edge

Of the green woods,

Where the Death Caps grow.

We were always told to ward

Against them

Poison is as poison does.

If I went back now

I would see the names

Waiting there

As if we had never gone

All the years between

The wonders we have seen.

How would it feel

To stand in the lee of the

Old tree

So familiar

From a thousand anecdotes

Barely changed,

Comfortable in silence

Unlike me.

Once we collected acorns

Filled our pockets

Planted them in every garden

Waited for them to become

More than a dream

Grown into a life.

But there will be

No catharsis

In such a return

Old hearts turn to dust

Words are pale echoes

With no spark of life

Gnarled bark

Splits

Every dream asunder.

Human hearts are carved

Already broken

Right from the start

And the Death Cap

Is still a poison to avoid.