Long ago the tree was strong and green,
But that was when the air was clean
And the water that fell as rain was not tainted.
So it grew and ignored what was happening
Reaching only for the constant sun that gave it life.

It slept through winters and sprouted every spring
As the earth turned and lesser lives were lived and lost
Always turning its branches to gather the light
Sinking deeper its roots to stand taller,
Time moved slower for the tree, but it moved nonetheless

It moved.

The weakness came slowly, creeping into its roots
From the soil that caught the tainted rain
Its leaves were less each season, less light was gathered
The winters grew longer and more brutal
He could not reach so high, though he tried.

And the time came when no leaves grew, but he was not gone
He stood his ground with bare arms stretching still
For the sun, who had never left him.
He stands there now, not forever, but long enough
For us to see the haunting beauty of a life now gone
Who in his time was a giant.