The Tree or The Grave?

Several tons of stone sprout up

in the shadow of a sapling.

Then, a century or two goes by,

and a mighty oak comes down

in pieces

demolishing the monument below.

The living thing dies,

and the dead die again,

for even their eternal resting place is ephemeral.

Legacies are flaky things,

so is it better to be the tree

or the grave?