Towering Oak

[adalger]

So valiantly, the ancient giant stood there
For centuries uncounted; through the dry spells,
The hurricanes, the fires, the moths and beetles,
Just shrugging off each plague and each disaster
As, being momentary, of no moment.
At last, though, when they went and dammed the river,
The filling reservoir allowed the water
To loosen all the soil that held it steady,
And suddenly its roots could find no purchase.
It toppled then, and fell into the river.
The dam went on with storing up the water,
And no one ever missed it but some squirrels.