Tearing Away

(An ode to the ancient Whitewebbs oak, destroyed mindlessly on 3 April 2025)

I breathe out on one leg

Standing tall, arms above

My tree pose unwavering

Like an ancient oak that once stood

As tall and wide as 500 years

I sigh

A loss to humankind

An unnatural disaster

Tearing away at an ancient being

Tearing away at my heart

I’m tearing up

Sad for the ignorance of humankind

Sad that my heart is gripped with pain

Again, after the Sycamore Gap

A time of reckoning

Truth is spoken

The grieving commences

The world looks in and cocks its head

Wondering why we haven’t learned

From lessons in the past

What of the future

As we stand united in wisdom

To protect other ancients

From mindless acts

From yet another destruction

(Photo from The Standard.co.uk & The Enfield Society)