A vibrant oak stands tall and proud and green,
The finest sight the forest's ever seen.
Its leaves are dancing in the summer breeze,
A home for birds and busy, humming bees.
It drinks the rain and reaches for the light,
A burst of life, a magnificent sight.
With every branch, it tells a story bold,
In shades of emerald and shining gold.
But right beside it stands a ghost of gray,
Whose leaves have fallen, long since blown away.
A skeleton of wood, so dry and old,
That shivers in the biting winter cold.
It holds no fruit, it offers no more shade,
A silent witness to the years that fade.
Once it was green, once it was full of song,
But time is short, and seasons don't stay long.
Yet even in the dead and brittle bark,
The forest finds a shelter in the dark.
For one gives life with every breath it takes,
While the other shows how even beauty breaks.