The first time
The boy visited the tree
It was the first day
The tree wasn't even a tree
Just a seed
Buried under mounds of soil
The boy was young
No more than four years
Just a spark, just an idea
The second time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 34th day
It was just a sapling
The boy stared at it with curiousity
He thought to stomp it out
He didn't
The third time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 100th day
Both had grown-
The tree, little stubby branches
The boy, little knowledge bases
The fifth time
The boy visited the tree
it was the 366th day
The tree's branches
Were almost as long as the boy's arms
The boy made his first sketch
With orange crayon
And a purple marker
The tenth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 1134th day
He named it
"Bobby," he whispered
And that was that
The tree
And the boy
Were the same height
It was the first time he came alone
The fiftieth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 2196th day
They were both taller-
The tree, 14 feet
The boy, 4
He climbed the branches
Imagining he had a friend following him up
Imagining a friend
The hundreth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 2348th day
He brough his sketchbook
Climbed up
And drew
The two hundreth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 3291st day
He came with a black eye
And a broken left arm
He sat under the tree
Because he could not climb up
He used his good hand
And drew the mean kids from school
Towering over him
Angry
The four-hundreth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 2953rd day
He identified the tree as an Apple tree
And sighed, finding zero apples
Leanign his head against the bark
"Maybe you're a late bloomer.
You, without your apples,
And me,
Without my friends,"
And then he cried
The seven hundreth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 3285th day
It was dark
And he was running
He scrambled into the branches
Hiding as three loud,
Angry voices
Filled the clearing
"Where is 'e?"
"That FAG ran like a baby."
"Such a nerd."
The boy stayed quiet until they left
And then he cried
His tears watering the tree
The seven hundred fiftieth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 3335th day
The boy was angry
He ripped out a page
In his sketch pad
And ripped it up
"Drawing is stupid, anyway."
he stopped bringing his sketch pad to the tree
The thousandth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 4387th day
The boy was beaming
He told the tree
About a girl
He was going out on a date with
The folloiwng night
The next day,
The tree blossomed
The one-thousand-one-hundreth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 4532nd day
The boy brought his sketch pad back
And told the tree
All about his new friends
All as smart
And creative as he
And he was happy
The one-thousand-three-hundreth time
The boy visited the tree
It was 4873rd day
And he brought his friends
And they picked the trees ripe, large apples
Laughing and joking
And the boy was happy
The one-thousand-five-hundreth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 5113rd day
He was jumping up and down
Waving a letter around his head
"Look, look!" He cried,
"I've been accepted! I'm going to Stanford!"
The one-thousand-eight-hundreth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 5454th day
He explained that he was going to be away for years
He would miss Bobby, he said
He would come back, he said
The one-thousand-eight-hundreth and first time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 8763rd day
He was no longer a boy, but a man
And he had a woman with him
His fiancee
They were getting married, he said
The man was still a boy
To the tree
The two-thousandth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 9138th day
And he was with the woman
But she was wearing white
And he was wearing black
They were married
And they watered the tree
With their tears of joy
The five-thousandth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 11163rd day
He came with his wife
And two kids
A five year old,
And a three year old
He motioned to the younger girl
"Maddy," He said,
and to the older boy,
"Bobby."
The fifteen-thousandth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 29744th day
The boy was 80
"My wife is dead,"
He started, somewhat wistfully
"And my children have moved out.
I am a grandfather.
But you have always been here,
Haven't you, Bobby?"
The twenty-two-thousandth time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 35040th day
He was wrinkled
And tired
And slow
"I've known this place, and you,
Bobby,
For what feels like an eternity
But my time has come
And there is no place
I'd rather be."
And he closed his eyes
And never opened them again
The last time
The boy visited the tree
It was the 35045th day
He was in a wooden box
And placed in a hole
At the foot of the tree
Everyone was dressed in black
And their tears
Watered the tree
