The Gum Tree – A Poem by S. Thomas Montgomery

Today, a single tree I found, amidst a field with none around
That I could see for miles; a single standing, lonesome tree.
He was old and grey, with branches warped an unusual way
And it beckoned me to come and see, and talk, and stay.

“People just drive on by, and never stop and just say ‘hi’,
A tractor will often come, drive out wide, and continue on.
And treats me to my face, as if it’s not my rightful place,
Yet he doesn’t know, when, or why, or how I ran my race”.

“I was once brightest green, most beautiful one you’ve ever seen
My branches reached the sky, they taught young birds to fly;
Animals lived all through me, I gave them a place to be,
And sheltered them, gave them food, and I kept them free”.

“Now those times, no more, I’m not the tree that I was before,
My branches dry and bare, and broken, hollow and sore.
I watch birds, away they fly, like memories that go awry,
To a place, I don’t know, and can’t find, or even reason why”.

Today, a single tree I found, amidst a field with none around
That I could see for miles; a single standing, and lonely tree.
And that poor and lonely plant, not bright, and barely scant.
That gnarled and grey, that tree, upon a closer look, was me.

S. Thomas Montgomery grew up on a dairy farm in Kyabram, central Victoria, where he developed a deep appreciation for the countryside. Over the years he has lived in both city and rural communities, and he now resides in the small town of Goondiwindi, near the Queensland–NSW border.

Stan began writing in the mid 1990s. His poems ‘When Was Last’, ‘Replacements’ and ‘Dust Collected Memories’ have appeared in McPherson Media Group’s The Shepparton News in Victoria with ‘When Was Last’ also appearing in South Burnett Today’s Goondiwindi Argus. ‘A Child’s Hurt’ and ‘Healing’ have also been published in international compendiums and newsletters over the years.

More recently, several of his pieces, ‘The Field’, ‘A Dreary Winter’s Day’ and ‘Our Last Camping Trip’ have won writing sections in local Eisteddfod competition in 2023, 2024 and 2025 with ‘The Gum Tree’ taking first place in The MacIntyre Young Writers, Open Division, on the Darling Downs, Queensland, also in 2025

Stan attended one of Jacqx’s workshops in Goondiwindi.

Gum Tree image supplied by Canva

Image of S. Thomas Montgomery supplied by author with permission to publish The Gum Tree.