12.22.16 In their life

          This tree stands, in its life, at a corner of the small main road as it changes from paved to unpaved, watching as the river shifts itself over centuries, as the land changes, as it drinks from the creek nearby, growing lustrous leaves in Spring. 
           Tolerating early season flooding far up its trunk for weeks , then the extended drought of Summer. 
          The dry quiet as Fall rolls around, and the frozen sleep of deep Winter's rest.