The Tree in My Windows

She died last Spring. Had probably been dying for some time. Her mantle of green needles slowly turned to orange, then brown.

The landscape company – a hack and mow down outfit – has left her there for some reason. Slowly a blanket of pale blue lichens is engulfing her skin and bones. The tree’s brain of underground mycelia may yet be conscious.

I do not know, but I feel her presence. Her gray limbs fill my living room windows. We’ve been together for 3.5 years. I am grateful to her enduring presence. Oh, dear Virginia Pine!

How lovely you remain in your shroud of blue lichens like flowers on a gravestone. I will sorely miss you when at last you depart. Even when they come to remove your dead limbs and trunk, you will continue to bring me refreshment and grace.

Goodbye is a long process when I do not wish to let you go.

My Virginia Pine.