i sit on my rocking chair, and above me the sky is ablaze. rocking slowly, i look up to regard the fireballs tearing the sky apart. nothing much stirs in me, and i remain unperturbed. my eyes are dark against the whites. i rise from my chair and walk back into the house, i open the door to my bedroom, and find there is nothing there. i feel puzzled because there was always something in that room. but this time, it was completely empty. i close the door, and walk out to the backyard. a lone tree stood there, with its branches stretched out in a large umbrella. i walked up to it and reminisced the time i had spent sitting under its canopy, watering it and pulling out weeds from amongst its roots.. alas, i did indeed spend a lot of my time and effort with this tree. and as i stood and looked at the tree, it began shedding its leaves. green turned to brown as they fell to the ground, descending slowly. the tree awakened and said to me 'i have decided to shed them, for i would rather let them fall than let the conflagration above raze everything.' i look up, but the sky no longer burns. instead, an overcast sky has taken its place. i look to the tree, and it says 'pick up my leaves and put them back onto my branches.' i gaze at the fallen, browned out leaves, and sigh. it would be a seemingly impossible task to place all its leaves back on, and even if i did manage the task, it would be a tree full of brown leaves, no longer the lush green canopy it once had. and i wonder to myself, if i would have to water and nourish this tree once more to grow its leaves once again. and as i slowly ponder, droplets of water start to fall about me, as the clouds above start to erupt in precipitation. i would continue to speak my mind if not for lack of metaphors. i guess now is not the time. ...