The roots of the tree had long dug a tortuous path 
Into the frozen ground 
With slow power 
That came from the infinite resources supplied by Nature.

Eating into the ground 
Past all sorts of vile matter 
Worse than that which appears to me on the surface.

Dead leaves.

Long dead and indisposed of, 
Rotting and festering on this frozen graveyard.
A few sticks lie with them, 

Victims of freezing torment.

Everything is gray – or black.
No color, no sunlight, just cold, gray and death.

Why doesn’t the snow come to bury these martyrs?
Why, even in their death are they subjected to this cold?

Even nature isn’t fair to her own.

A few rocks stand around the tree, 
Epitome of strength and toughness. 
They don’t care, they can survive anything.

No sympathy is given to the rocks, 
How sad
Tough and rugged as a slave-trading sailor 
But they don't know the joy of growth 
And have nothing to look forward to, 
Not even death.

Yes, no sympathy for the stones.

The tree carries some vestiges of life that it once supported, 
The fractured birds nest, 
The squirrel’s home, 
A hole for some creature… 
All abandoned and gone, 
Just the poor tree standing there, 
In the cold.

Does it know its fate?
The cold and maybe the promise of Spring across this cold dark landscape?

Lyrics are written by Thomas Ask and are not AI created or guided.

Tree Awaiting Winter Remix

Tree Awaiting Remix

I wrote these poems many years ago--all pre-AI and without its charming guidance. I tweaked the poems into suitable lyrics and developed the song structure. Finally, I used AI to compose the music. I guess this is striving to be a troubadour of the 21st century.

Many of my poems were written during my long traveling months when I was young and traveling a lot overseas. Later ones are about parenting, my Christian faith, and other life stuff.

These songs come from my poetry. The lyrics have not been AI generated or assisted. I did some tiny alterations of some of the original poems for musical flow. Except where noted, the musical compositions have been AI generated, where I took my poem and used some of the verses to create a chorus and bridge.

Tree Awaiting Remix

Melodity