THE SERMON OF THE TREES

by Rado Gatchalian

i see the veins of man flowing

in every branch of a tree,

rushing through from earth

to the sweetest eloquence of air.


beneath the inhale, exhale, of life —

all roots speak of an immutable decree

that every matter shares the same ingredients,

as a leaf enthroned in the sky

so as the genius of a child.


whether you deny its existence

or glorify its infinite power —

a tree looks at you, and you look at the tree:

and a beauty is born in eternity.