Grayson County TXGenWeb

The Old Man of the Cemetery
by Natalie Bauman
I have always been fascinated by the old gnarled tree in the Georgetown Cemetery. It is a stand-out in a large cemetery absolutely full of large, old beautiful oak trees -the Grandfather of them all, carrying the scars of time. It didn't take too much imagination for me to see the majestic burl-y shoulder, the vigilant eyes, the prominent nose, the pensive lips and the strong chin, elongated by old age (or perhaps he grew a manly beard?). I wondered, how many years has this venerable guardian of the cemetery overseen the cycle of life played out at this place each day? This tree has weathered many storms, many invading insects, perhaps obstacles standing in its way of growth (hence the burl-y shoulders - "burl" is a name for the rough growth on this tree.) However, these traits, instead of making this tree ugly, its survival madeit unique, interesting and much more beautiful than its more "normal" companions aesthetically than its more "normal" companions, or any young , straight, perfect sapling, at least in my opinion. Any wood worker will tell you, burled wood that found on this tree, is beautiful. Two years ago in 2014, I was inspired to write the poem above about the tree because I was afraid it was approaching the end of even its long life. "The Old Man in the Cemetery" ever reminded of the brevity of life and the certainty of death by the silent monuments around him, he quietly succumbed to old age and went the way of all living, R.I.P. January 14, 2016. He is now gone, but not forgotten, and not without a monument. His burly shoulders remain to remind us to overcome obstacles, perservere to the end, and let those scars of adversity and wrinkles of old age make us unique, interesting and more beautiful than those not yet tired and tested by time.