Time passes slowly when waiting for someone you love. I should know; I have been waiting here for an eternity. Waiting to see my most love done. He has yet to come.

I have waited through drought and flood, hurricanes and ligtning storms. Often times I have thought that my own end would come long before I once again laid eyes upon his face; it has not. I am still here; I am still waiting.

Disease has passed through these lands and hard times have come and gone. I too, will soon be gone. I have waited and waited for my most loved one. He has not come, and I grow weary of waiting.

I have stood here, anchored in by my roots, waiting for him to return and leave his mark upon my bark-skin. He has not come, though I have waited patiently. I have seen many of his kind come and go and try to claim me as their own, or as their lover's--but they cannot. For I am waiting for the one I most love.

I wait because he once waited in much the same way for me. He placed my seed into the ground and waited patiently as it grew--as I grew. And now I stand here today because he waited and tended to me lovingly and with such care. It is because of his love that I have been able to survive all of these ages. It is because of his love that I have lived so long that I might wait for him.

He left me, many years ago, with whispers of one day returning and reclaiming my branches as his own. He asked that I wait here for him. I have.

I have waited through war. I have waited through change. I have waited through the ages. But I cannot wait anymore.

Tomorrow they come for me. They shall tear me down against my will to make room for change and progress. I shall fight to remain here, as I have for years, but I fear I cannot win. So I wait here, one more night, for my beloved. And though what they do to me will tear me down and hurt, I will cry only for the one I love most--for he has not returned. I have waited, and he has not come. And if allowed, I would wait yet more.