She fell slowly, gracefully,
never giving in.
Never letting go,
her roots embedded deep.

Her roots embedded deep,
into the soil
of Mother Earth,
holding on to life.

Holding on to life,
defying deaths grip.
Relinquishing nothing
into the cloying arms of nothingness.

The cloying arms of nothingness
ate arduously at her thick roots.
Severing the tiny tendrils and outshoots
before going in for the killing blow.

The killing blow hit fast and hard,
the way hurricanes and bad weather do.
Where once the stately old tree stood proud,
now only her skeleton can be seen.