racked by perpetual squally devastation,
entwine warped wooden fingers in supplication to the heavens.
Battering elements shred coats of bark,
brittle leaves fragment and fall, gnarled knots weep,
as mouldy ferment slithers over festering roots.
Ebony tentacles clutch the dark blanket of nightfall,
that veils tormented gum trees from their denouement,
hoary statues, testament to the dark side of nature.