So Long, Farewell

It's the end.
I can taste it.
It's no longer something in the future; the reality of it more tangible than ever.

I turn to stare at its once beautiful face, now withered and ugly.
And I weep. Oh, how I weep!
Its bodice; scarred and rough, proof of when it had stood, unmoving, suffering blow after blow.
Despite the agony, it had stood tall, as far as possible.
Yes, admittedly, there were times when it had bent so low, I swear it would break. I even anticipate hearing the crack, louder than thunder, and I close my ears to it.
But it surprises you, it does. For it does not break.

It has weathered storms, ceaseless rain; thunder and lightning have both left their mark on it.
Marks that are sometimes not even visible to the naked eye; that are not merely on the surface, but are cuts and wounds that are too deep for any one person to see even with closer inspection.

I sit thoughtful, reflective, at its feet. I close my eyes to better concentrate on what was important.
I remember days when everything was just right; the wind was a teasing hand caressing my smooth cheek, when the clouds billowed past like fluffy rolls of cotton candy, when the Mighty Sun smiled on everything below and forced whatever clouds with evil intentions to stay far enough away.
Even with everything so perfect, my focus returns to it.

Standing tall and majestic, its hands waving in time with the gentle breeze; a dance that only it can comprehend; a dance of life.
Its scars then, do not look as gruesome, and those that I can only guess how deep they are, seem to fade from my mind. I can even forget what it has gone through to be where it is at this very moment; to be what it is now.
Only God knows how far it has come.

Many things are unpredictable.

A storm attack, one unlike any that had ever come before.
Black ominous clouds conquered the skies, until it seemed there was never a day when it was clear and blue.
Lightning flashed and struck wherever it liked, destructive in its vicious hatred. Thunder crashed; angry, revengeful.
It could not help it; its feet trembled and shook.
The fear that gripped it was certainly something it would never experience again. Such fear was almost as terrifying as what loomed before it.
But the most terrifying of all, was that it knew it was helpless against what was to come. Knowing that everything it had endured thus far, had not, and could not, prepare it for such a circumstance.
12 months of its existence in this world, 12 months of having the chance to enjoy, to suffer, to be hurt, sad, and also happy. To have a chance to live.

It knew then, that it would fall.
It was time.

I weep once more. I weep for all the joy it had had, the suffering and hurt it had survived.
Will this be the end? Will it be no more?

Its last breath is like a kiss upon my forehead. I close my eyes and know that it is over.

But when I open my eyes, right there, at its feet, is a tiny sapling. Its child, its inheritance, legacy.
Its future.

I smile.

A fresh start. A new beginning.
A new life.

Happy New Year everyone!
Tuck our memories of the joy and the pain of 2008 safely in our minds; and look forward to a new beginning, a fresh start in Year 2009.