Silence saturates
the old footpath
that brought
them to me.
Children who played under
my cover have long vanished.
They sought
pleasure from
Earth’s treasure.
Knowing the joy
of one another.
Their free spirit
laughter infused
life into my roots.
Branches are now dry and
leaves whither from grief.
Butterflies have
vanished, the last
bird nest felled
by a storm.
My children never
knew I wasn’t just a tree.
“The human being is the only component of creation that can oppose, or that has a propensity to oppose, its essential function. Only the human being is capable of an ambition to dominate nature: to hate, to nullify peace, or even aspire to an understanding of her or his inner essence.”