Windswept
Enjoy a windy walk across the white cliffs of Dover.
Visit collection: Trees
Windswept, looking out to sea
that is me, a wild Hawthorn tree.
Rooted atop the white cliffs, I wait
for the easterly wind to shape my fate.
Tangled, unruly, without much care
my branches are wavy as maiden's hair.
Seasons in turn try to tame my tresses
gently coaxing with persistent caresses.
Warmer months, tie a leafy green scarf,
winds try to snatch it away with a laugh,
and as summer turns into autumn brown
red berries are tied tight to my crown.
In winter, after the usual leaf loss
my locks have braids of lichen and moss.
Spring adorns me with garlands of white
May blossom is the most wondrous sight.
Despite all their efforts, in nature's art,
I remain,
Windswept, unruly, a wild child at heart.
- Windswept
- The White Cliffs of Dover
- Kent
- UK.
Dotted over the white cliffs of Dover are some very hardy hawthorn trees. Their shapes are dictated by the prevailing easterly winds, giving them great character. I can almost imagine the faces of these trees laughing back at their adversary, the wind.