Dear trees, who long stood

As friends in quiet solitude,

Beneath your enchanted, leafy boughs

I walked on hallowed ground.

 

Green light softly hailed

The birdsong of glowing dawn

In silent rapture I lingered there

Before slowly moving along.

 

For countless years, the path well-trodden

Through the needles wound,

Where ribbons of dappled shadows

Flickered in endless ripples.

 

Under the sun's watchful eye,

Leaves rustled in the wind

Golden, as autumn lay dying,

The ground shrouded by frost.

 

Alas, you trees might have stood

Beyond my final breath -

Now pale springs and bright summers

Shall grace you nevermore.

 

For your roots, laid bare,

Spread in sorrow to the sky;

I heard the shuddering crash

And thought, "Oh, dear God, why?"