Ashes to ashes,

the children's rhyme

no small irony here.

The Emerald Ash Borer

has chewed its way

into the hearts

of trunks

lining Midwest

suburban streets.

A parade of death,

orange township trucks

bring graceless

euthanasia

to a dying breed.

Hearing the arrival

of saws and chippers,

we remember

the elms.

Tomorrow,

there will be

too much sun.