To the Only Tree Standing

To the only tree standing

Do you ever miss your companions?
How their lush leaves intertwined with your branches,
waving gently in the early fall breeze;
the simmering heat, still lingering from a sun-burnt
summer, sticking to every groove on your mahogany trunk
& their sienna boughs
                before their disappearance.

I remember watching your
gentle whispers from inside the glass panes
as I lay in meditation on the auburn floor,
thinking of how the scenery will last
                            forever
as I let the mellow tunes fill up my limbs --

the same way you let the clear breeze
run through your amber foliage,
releasing flashes of gold

dancing,
descending,

to eternally rest on the Earth.

What were you thinking 
when the storm took everything from you? 
Torn your soul apart?

How the agonizing howl of wind brutally 
slashes your companions in half, their
sturdy trunks
            falter & tumble onto the
forest floor?

Were you silently weeping like I did
when I returned the next fall
to find you 
        to be the only tree standing?

Did you also believe,
                like humans,
that everything was going to
last forever,

until you became the only 
tree in the wilderness

alone?

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