I sit

motionless

beneath

an hallowed oak

bark wrinkled

slashed

split

by many

a passing storm

a large

trout

feeds cautiously

languidly

in its shadows

midst tangling weeds

and mossy banks

no heron yet

a yellow butterfly

adds colour

river green

I lie back

pink, yellow, orange

flowers make me a bed

O the scent of it all

up in the oak

new shoots emergent

mid drifting

early Spring

this tree

this very tree

outlived the Kaiser

all horrors after

silent witness

still standing

standing still

it will outlive me

for sure

I smile

but not the Spree

dancing mayflowers

for you and me