Eternity

She wakes in the morning

A vision of hope and tomorrow

Resplendent in soft tones of new yellow

   and young green

One look at her beauty

creates a wellspring of purposeful optimism

   rooted in dreams of what is to come

She stretches forth

   and spreads her verdant loveliness

      throughout the afternoon

Shading the wanderer

   from harsh light and heat

Her beauty is a refuge

   cooling the day while warming the soul

She exhales

   and breathes forth life

The cool of evening is excited

   by her presence

She bursts forth in brilliant

   explosions of entrancing color

Her intoxicating scent fills the air

   with passion and heat

      even as the crisp zephyr of night

         comes rolling in

And pushes her

   deep into sleep

   A sleep which cannot hide her beauty

                     as she stretches up and further up

Her slender reach

   filters light and warmth

A watchtower

   that signals the day is near

with tiny flashes of young green

and soft new yellow

Throughout the day

   and all through the cold night

She remains

Steadfast

An exemplar of truth, hope, integrity

Without, she changes

Within, never

And it is from within

her beauty outward flows

Lord, let me be an oak

   of eternal beauty