As A Tree Falls

long fallen

a gnarled

tangle

𖣂

dead branches

snapped

lying splintered

in the sand

slowly degrading

mulching

bleaching in the

haloed

Tahoe sun

orange

flaring

coronal white

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hollow knots

home

chickadees

and squirrels

instinctively

hoarding nuts

and seeds

for their winter

livelihood

on this

ray-drenched

beach

along the

forest’s edge

𖣂

sun warms skin

as biting breezes

chill bones

rattling like a

leafless bramble

latched on

at either end

of a massive trunk

half burried

in glittering sand

grains of quartz

flashing white

on this soft

dazzling ring

sandwiched between

forest and lake

𖣂

roots

washed of soil

no longer

grasping the steep

climbing incline

branches

given way

every needle

blown off

in the winds of change

left in the fall

of our weeping despair

𖣂

frigid winds

winter

sweeps through

leaving patches of frost

across the whistling cavities

and desiccated sticks

old nests compacted

feathered

padded in preparation for

this white barren interlude

the resting season

takes firm grip

𖣂

moisture slowly returns

melting

sublimating

into the spring sky

blue and white

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despite its position

days in the sun

dry and parch

lightening

whitening

leaving only

weightless detritus

slowly mixing into

warm soil

ringing the lake

a sparkling jewel

glinting in the

summer sun

K.B. Silver