Under the Shade of Trees
By Rado Gatchalian
Behold and look at the mirror
And see the hands of God
Working infinitely in the bliss,
Into you, from you, for you, through you.
Bend your arrogance — and wait,
Terminate all your judgment
And wait for doubt to become truth.
As you walk through that door,
Remember that exits are uncertain;
But open that door and see for yourself
How anguish can be a reward,
Anger, a source of life,
And hopelessness, your very hope to dream.
When endless nights of prayer —
Become punishments to your soul:
You question whether God exists or not,
If life has meaning at all.
But here, hear the crying lips of your spirit,
Listen to the invisible wind
That shakes the earth with love,
Resuscitates life with free flowers and bees.
Embrace the good and bad in you,
And look at the mirror again —
And you discover that your faith sustains you;
What you see is a reflection
Of what you want to believe;
Refrain from looking
And you will start to see.
When this Universe calls for your attention
Do not doubt such beauty,
Contemplate the finite and the infinite,
The beginning and the end,
The good and the evil,
Everything and nothing,
Masculine and feminine,
Day and night —
And you realise that all truths are half-truths.
Move but be still,
Be thirsty but patient —
As you reach the heavens
You get a better view of earth,
And you realise that as above, so below;
And you see in the mirror —
The self and the entire universe,
Yet you are one unique star.
