He was shrivelled and scabbed

with a jagged back so he went

to seek for something

that would restore his looks.

He sought the tree of youth.

His skin curled through the years

he lived and his eyes were distended

through the tears he wept

as he reached his age.

He sought the tree of youth.

His hair was barely discernible and

sickly white but straggly.

His hands were brittle from the work

he had done years ago.

He sought the tree of youth.

His rags were ripped and tousled

as was his wounded ancient face.

His eyes were struck with angst

and a hint of resentment he had faced.

He sought the tree of youth.

T’was said that the tree of youth

was a hard to find elderly plant.

It bore a fruit once in a thousand years

to amend a human being’s looks.

But to seek this tree was awkward

as one had to pass over the mountains

filled with thorns and demons that

would wait to engulf the meagre

human being that sought the tree.

But the flesh of the solitary fruit

would ease years of sting and wrath

but the cost to be paid for this gift

was one of time and blood.

Not many lived through the obstacles

as their carcasses adorned the land.

But the old man remained obstinate

to find the fruit to suffice his needs.

He sought the tree of youth.

So he voyaged across the livid seas

and crossed treacherous valleys

of the north until he reached the

frigid mountains and the demons who

he massacred by the masses.

But when he reached the tree

he was even more cracked than he

had ever imagined but the prospect

of the shimmering gold fruit kept

the inner flame in him alive.

He walked towards the tree and

grabbed the radiant fruit.

His eyes lit up in victory and he tore

the sweetness open but then

dropped the fruit in disbelief

as a monstrous sight met his eyes.

The insides of the fruit were crawling

with the most vile insects and bugs.

Alas it was true, and it happened.

The golden fruit did rot because

no one reached the tree of youth.

The greed of the men who sought it

had made the tree wretched and old

and the poor golden fruit just

shimmered while inside it

was decomposing by the second.

He lost all hope in himself and

the pitiful life he led but alas

with the wounds he gathered to

reach until the tree, he finally

did succumb to the cuts that

gashed his frail and historic body.

What a shame that a man of his

kind came so far to reach his

goal but because of the greet of the

other men who yearned for it,

he was meant to suffer despite

his hardest efforts to accomplish.

Even though the man tried hard,

the died a valiant death that was wrought

because of the tree of youth that he sought.