The Mighty Oak

The oldest memories of sprouting from earth,
Finding a path and finding a worth,
Are none without what a plant longs to be,
Nothing without the great oak tree.
With many rings and years behind,
The old oak's influence not undefined,
Brings plants back to simpler days,
Times with a value not one could appraise.
But even the strongest, most powerful tree
Will reach an end to days of glee,
Leaving pain in the hearts of every young mind,
All from hearing the word 'malign'.