The Circle

Some circles are held from the inside.

She stood in the center.
That was all she had ever known.
The rain found other branches first.
The wind arrived at her leaves already tired.

She thought the circle would last forever.

Years passed.

One by one, they fell. 

The wind no longer softened.
The rain no longer waited.
Her roots reached deeper.
Her trunk grew thick.

One day, she found herself on the edge of the circle.

The rain found her before the others.
The wind met her upon arrival.

The understory never noticed.