By RICHARD R. GAPPI
Bulatlat.com
(In memory of botanist and U.P. Prof. Leonard Co, Sofronio Cortez and Julius Borromeo)
We have felt
the most painful poem:
the “Pasyon” inscribed on trees.
Those trees at the heart of the forest
which thirst for a drop of justice
Those trees looking up, imploring
whose leafy hands wave
like a mendicant man calling
for help while drowning in the sea of gunfire
Those trees that have fallen down in the heat of life
where there are sounds of nestlings crying,
bearing the brunt of the pangs of fright
while in a blaze the fascists’ guns fire
Poems are written
by those who sow seeds like us.
But when they grow into trees
are mercilessly cut down
by godless godheads
of gods.
(Translated by Angelo Ancheta, January 27, 2011)
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Trees are the earth's lungs that keep us alive. I have this really weird feeling that trees have consciousness. Too many spooky experiences I've had around these majestic "creatures." And then, "myth" tells us the Buddha gained enlightenment under a tree (and as a child was lost in timelessness around trees)! Salamat sa tula tungkol sa mga puno.