A thousand

I have seen the willow trees grow old, their swooping branches kissing the ground before they are ripped apart and buried beneath concrete. 

I have watched the migrating whales moan and cry as they are speared, and cut, and gouged from the oceans, their last song echoes of grief.

I have stood by as my children grow and live and die, their hands grasping mine as they draw final breath. 

I cannot tell them that I have lived a thousand lives, been a thousand people, loved a thousand souls, buried a thousand children.

For I am immortal, and time withers away all that I have.