on this mountain
the trees,
like tourists,
come and go
but the rocks never die
they’ve been lying here 
watching the once mighty waterfall
age and shrink

even the tallest of trees come and go
none lives forever
the rocks
they have always been here from the beginning
but the presence of the invading trees
have left marks on the mighty rocks
like signatures of passing time
set in stone

the rocks will always remember
the patience of the trees
first a foothold
and then the invasion of the entire mountain
penetrating the heart of the most hardened rock
with their patience and roots
causing cracks in what once seemed
a formidable fortress of rocks