my, me and some of the others had a place in the forest. a small patch of green and grey and light soft brown. 

         drying and dead ground. 

a tree lived there forever before we had a go at her. mean and sullen glances and hurtful pauses while we walked briskly past. hard and bitter words. rotten to the root and roots. all done, from bottom up. and nothing was saved. i didn’t cry when they hurriedly choked her from her spot and place. her fully formed home. some bunch of us stood aside and forced out chiding chuckles and didn’t hide our mouths with our hands.