Have you found the treasure on the old lemon tree?
It has long since grown old and died,
But there was a time that it held
The largest lemons anyone had ever seen
Hanging on the tree and seldom used
Except when friends came to see.
They would ask why we never ate them
But they weren’t around when we had the dog
That never shit anywhere but under that tree
And they didn’t have the memory of that smell
Or the dog shit on the bottom of their shoes
From the times as a kid you had been sent out there
To pick the lemons for your older sisters
Who didn’t want to use the lemons
But did want to laugh at you
When you got out the hose and a stick
And whined as you cleaned between
The treads of your only pair of shoes.
***
A free verse poem has no set pattern for line or stanza length. Rhyme is not used, or it is used sparingly. The line length and the rhythm or the lines are dictated by the natural rhythm of speech or other concerns such as emphasis on a particular word, image, or idea.
therichardbraxton 