The Oak and the Man

Day 3 of OctPoWriMo brings us the first real challenge. At least for me, this was the first one. Dear reader, we were given the prompt of 'insecurity'. The direction the prompt wanted us to go was how we dealt with being unsure in love. I chose something completely different. I did, however, use the form that we were prompted to use. I had never written a florette. The Florette is a 4 line poem with a rhyme scheme of a-a-b-a and a meter of 8-8-8-12. There are some rhyming rules as well. See if you can pick up on that as you read my poem.

I really wanted to tell a story with this piece. I hope I accomplished that. Thank you again for reading and following my work. Please subscribe to receive updates in your email. Or, leave a comment on the poem(s). Your support and knowing you are reading means a lot to me.

Rod E. Kok
October 3, 2018

A stooped old man, grizzled and worn

his body broken, his mind torn

only his eyes had signs of life

taunts and jests cut him like a knife, facing the scorn.

An ancient oak stands tall and proud

its limbs are strong, with leaves endowed

a symbol of strength, hope...glory

ageless, timeless, it tells a story. All have bowed.

The man looked up to that old tree

it took away insecurity

He felt it showed him some respect.

That old oak did the man protect, both could live free.

An ancient oak stood all alone

its leaves were gone, the winds had blown.

On winter’s eve, that old man died;

he found his peace. The old oak cried, last respect shown.