It came last night, a storm so brutal
a limb from a oak crashed, ripped
from its body, one, two centuries
here long before myself or anyone else

The violence waking me, suddenly
from a deep sleep, a sudden rush of being
alive penetrating to the core of my existence
an awareness of danger and vulnerability
not being able to protect myself, relying
on fate and a quick recited prayer 

The storm lingered for hours subsiding
finally passing, leaving a memory of nature
gone mad, tearing up my tree, a once mighty tree
the pride of my wealth

As the sun appeared in the horizon I see 
the destruction in my world, my thoughts
making little sense, that once magnificent
oak, preformed its task

Marvin Young