The dead tree that I never noticed

I had never noticed this dead tree, 

in the midst of the manicured yard, the flowers

blooming all around

But when did it die?  Had it recently died?  Were

there yet a few small leaves hidden in the upper branches

a gradual death that I had never noted, 

like our own, like the spiral of wrinkles I just noticed

this morning around my friend's eye when he smiled,

the deformation in his earlobe linked to cardiovascular disease,

It had to be that, the tree had been dying all these

years so no one thought to cut it down, it was 

just part of a slowly changing landscape, like us,

where we can convince ourselves for a few years

that we still look young, carefully controlling the angle we 

look at ourselves in the  mirror.

Yet, we are surprised at how old our friends look

and we know that we are with them, after all.

We are all growing fewer leaves each season,

finally death will take us and those who have not

been watching will be surprised that we have passed

so quickly.