Oak Tree Tea

OAK TREE TEA

 

The withered old witch

Gave her cloak a twitch

And tipped her pointed hat.

 

She said, "Will ye

Take tea with me?

We can have a pleasant chat.

 

"The top of an oak

Is where," she spoke,

"We'll have a cozy meeting.

 

Oh, will you come,

My chubby chum?

The time, you know, is fleeting."

 

There wasn't much room,

But I hopped on her broom

And off we went a-flying,

 

And we made our stop

In a wide tree-top

As the day was just a-dying.

 

With a wave of her hand

She loosened the band

Of her rusty old black bag.

 

Her magic was able

To pull out a table

And goodies to make it sag!

 

There was punch, and beef

That my ancient teeth

Could barely chew, but did;

 

And jelly and jam

And slices of ham,

And butter and garlic squid.

 

We talked and laughed

As her magic craft

Brewed pot after pot of tea,

 

And we joked and sang

Till the forest rang

With the sound of our revelry.

 

So all of the night

With the moon for light

We ate, drank, and made merry;

 

While little black bats

As dark as top hats

Would drop by for a sherry.

 

The owls from the air,

And an elf, and a bear

Dropped in to join the fun.

 

They ate and they ate

From the magic plates

And then left us, one by one.

 

We had cakes and ale,

But the sky went pale

When the sun began arising

 

And the stars went dim,

And the oak tree limbs

Flushed red, to our surprising.

 

The old witch grinned

And stretched her shins,

And cried, "Well, now it's day!

 

"I shall not linger!"

She snapped her fingers,

And instantly vanished away.

 

And I, bereft,

In the tree-top left,

All by myself to curse,

 

Had to clamber down

Like a foolish clown,

Then home to write this verse!

[I was never quite happy with that last verse. Two characters from Elf&Bear, the first book that I ever completed (but never published) poked their heads in here. I once had the ambition to publish this little poem as a Dr. Seuss-type format book. Although I designed the general illustrations and pagination of each verse, I never felt that my drawing skills were up to what I had imagined. My friend Alan Peschke has since set it to music: SotU 228 - Oak Tree Tea - YouTube