I still mourn the loss of our Japanese Maple. Ornate and decorative,
It fit its name, like a samurai. Its branches drooped down beautifully,
Covered with delicate, thinly-lobed leaves. I don't think it really was
Meant for Nebraska. Unlike the hardier maples nearby, mostly
Promiscuous Norways, it seemed be numbed by the cold, and a drought
Nearly killed it. A strike by my truck is what finished it off. Now, nothing
More than a small stump remains of that tree which was lovely

And plainly exotic, and not where it ought to have been.