Zinc / words / 1995 / Strain

I know n o t where this tree has
gone.

was it not alive when i got here last?
breathed here last?

death is all it is!
decayed like a black stain on the earth.
me.

i look all around, and it still stands.
it still stands!
but lifelessness consumes it.
breaching it like death.

the bushes are trampled underground!
they stand no longer. i travel
across the street, to meet
awkwardness, like
watching your best friend kiss
your girlfriend.
in front of you.
no remorse.

it decays within.