Beauty was all I’d ever cared for. It was all that ever moved me.

Don’t be sorry. You could hurt me a thousand different ways and I’d love it every time.

Their bony branches grew barer with each tearing wind. Their tall, leaning forms looked like a gateway to a long-abandoned world. They lived. Their roots were much deeper than mine would ever be. One day my tree would fall and die, gnawed by serpents.