November 7: O My Sainted Aunt

My evening walk brought me up to a wall
Where previously a set of stairs had been-
A set of rotten roots had caused to fall
A mighty eucalpytus, clad in green.

When morning dawned, the screen of leaves had gone,
The trunk chopped into manageable blocks,
Though doughty bannister had undergone
A transformation from the sudden shock.

So when today a much beloved tree
From whose progenitors I also grew
Succumbed to unrelenting gravity,
We in her shade were also knocked askew.

Though we feel broken now, we are protected
And strengthened having been interconnected.

In memoriam Audrey Evans Lee. August 6, 1943 – November 7, 2014.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.