I watch him A young man stares up into the sky He is waiting Waiting for love, I think He sits there, on that large rock His curiously blonde hair hanging Loosely to his cheeks I hear his sobs And watch the tears fall My branches sway with the wind, The whole forest creaks The man leaves at sun down Always returns at sun up He waits all day, sometimes Pacing, lying down, but he mostly sits on that rock, his lean back resting against my trunk. He eats slowly Makes two trips to the nearby spring And fills his jug with crisp water Who is he waiting for? I wonder and rustle my leaves I hear him mutter to himself ‘She’s dead, she died. They killed her! Please, no, she can not be dead!’ I grieve for him This boy Who seems so lost, so fragile Missing this unknown girl He can not live without He comes everyday for two weeks I grow to love him This lost soul, with silver-y blonde hair. The last day he comes Is cloudy, windy, wet Still, he sits on the rock Clinging to his black cloak I try to shield him with my leaves Then, I hear it. A voice calling The man jumps up and calls back A grin appearing on his face Out of the trees comes a woman Her brilliantly red hair flying behind her She cries out at the sight of him She throws herself into his open arms The man places his hands on the sides of her face Bringing his lips down upon hers Kissing her thoroughly The clouds break and rain pours from the sky They do not part. The girl finally pulls away, gasping for breath And laughing in the rain The man leads her under the shelter of my leaves. They wait out the storm Under my shelter When it finally ends The man pulls out a knife from his cloak. Gently he carves something into my trunk When he finishes he stands and stare up into my leaves ‘Goodbye tree, thank you.’ He grabs the girls hand and Together they disappear into the trees. I never see the man again All I have left is a carved in heart, The initials D+G Gracefully carved in the middle.