One tree,

Unnamed
Four hundred years surrounded by song

Of a million birds,
Each song ingrained in a growth ring.
 

The rustling of one rat,
The quiet thud of footfall on sand
First time on these shores.
 

This tree still stands.
Gazing into its branches
Imagine the Piopio, the Manu paea
From the earliest family of Earth’s song birds,
the Huia, the Kokako...
Their tree still stands
 

Here,
 

Now,
 

Silent.