A long time ago

On a mountain far far away

Where I lived when I was little

Near my mother's garden

Was a purple tree

It was beautiful

And always stood with pride

Through the wind and the rain and the snow

Like a palace guard

It's lovely leaves fell in the autumn

And in my hands

Looked like it had bled a deep sunset red

It never got any taller

Though the seasons rushed by like a river

Its branches never snapped

Though other trees around it lost branches

Often enough to layer the ground beneath them

It never bent when the wind came howling

Like a pack of wolves

I missed that purple tree

When we left that mountain far far behind us

I thought about it

In solitary moments

I remembered it

When my teachers spoke of purple trees

When discussing impossibility

And smiled

When I was little

I asked my mother what it was

And she said I must have see a mountain ash

Not long ago

I asked her again

She could not remember a purple tree like I described

I went back to that mountain far far away

Not long ago

However

There was no tree where I remembered it

No indentation in the ground

Nor sign that roots were ever there

And snow had fallen

Like it had fallen over bare ground

It was gone

But I know it was there

I believe it was there

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