Missed..
For height, girth and spread
it was often said
there was never one like it.
Weighing a train-load with
oaken coat on
it took every seasonal gale.
Winter blasts groaning thru\'
nude branches
merely tore down fire-wood.
Sagely magnificent
it withstood many decades
of weather behaviour,
sheltered all feather and fur
for generations,
made lovers a hiding place
but now it\'s not there.
Yet I see a sapling has been
fighting for air
and some say a gone-tree\'s
ghostly presence
can urge spurts of growth
in its successor.
I sincerely hope this is so
for all passing by
that one-time great oak
still heave a sigh
as its memorable strength
is mightily missed.