heat flow

you were standing there
i walked underneath you 45 minutes before
and then you were gone

you were being bent and whipped into crazy shapes
i watched as you were pushed over in the howling downpour
you fell so fast

once the storm had ended all the humans came
even a local tv news station came and took your picture and talked about your death
how you came to rest on top of cars

Facebook gawks began to be uploaded
a big crowd gathered and as it grew dark began to drink in the street yelling jokes at the reporter about messages from god

i took your picture
i came and touched your trunk no longer in the earth
your fresh broken wood was slippery, pale and smooth like flesh

i looked out on you for years
i would wait all winter for summer’s heat and your billowing leaves
your top most branches caught the setting summer sun above the parapet of my apartment
like a glowing green crown a few feet above my window

and all the neighbors i met for the first time after you died

i know their names at least