Talk of Trees

by Alice Lesnick

Photo by Arnaud Mesureur on Unsplash

Remember the prizewinning tree, he asked,
Its children all around it? Half knocked out
By a storm — what a tragedy!

And his professor’s son, he says, a while later,
Killed by a falling tree when all of them were young
40 years on the father never got over it

Would following the Dharma path, the speaker wonders,
Have helped him?
Yet another offers: what a great way to go!
Young and on a good day to be outside

Go where? I wonder, following their
Conversation.

Go to ground, answers Earth
then beneath and then
Rise again with the gases
With the trees, their
Roots conceiving and entering
Stratagems into the system, information
Broad jumping via subterranean
Fascia

In a recent book about change following
Volcanic loss some of the people
Turn into trees
Gradually
By staying put

Learn to slow
Their breathing

And learn to wait
And stay together

And speak differently
And gentle tragedy

Translated by Mia Tran

Alice Lesnick

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