Platter. Cherry/Walnut. I made this platter for my father for his 92nd birthday. It is made of wood from the tree mentioned in the poem. The full text of the poem is as follows:
I dont remember my Grandmother,
But I remember her Cherry tree.
My Grandmother died when I was three.
My Father came and woke my older brother and me.
It was early in the morning when he told us.
I did not understand.
I remember because Id never seen my Father so sad.
They tell me she was a pretty woman of elfin proportion,
And pixyish demeanor.
That she loved her garden, her flowers and her trees.
That she loved to laugh.
I imagine her beneath her Cherry tree in the Spring,
Laughing as the pink petals fell,
Cherry blossom snowflakes caught in her flowing hair.
Later in the Summer baking pies,
Filled with love and black sweet cherries.
Rescued by her sons from greedy birds,
Who thought the tree was theirs.
She taught her sons to love the garden,
The flowers and the trees.
My father taught me too,
And I remember climbing the rough black bark,
Of my Grandmothers Cherry tree,
To rescue the ripe black cherries for my Mother.
The tree died too in its time,
And was cut down when it became a danger,
To the home where she raised her sons.
But they saved a piece of the trees wooden heart,
In memory of their youth.
I dont remember my Grandmother,
But I remember her Cherry tree.
