[Poetry] The Tree

In memory of D. S. –

Thank you for all you have taught me in your words and actions.

 --

My heart’s still sad, though time has passed,

But now some peace I have at last.

My friend, through you, my mind recalls –

If, in a forest, a tree falls,

And there is nobody around

Does it, in fact, evoke a sound?

For I can hear the birds do weep

No twigs for nests or berries to reap.

And squirrels release a heavy sigh

No more acorns come from on high.

The owls hoot a solemn tune

Their trunk – their home – lost all too soon.

A loss sustained, the monkeys mourned

The treasured treetop vines adorned.

And who will help the fawn to grieve

The absence of the shady leaf?

The realization I have found

The tree indeed does make a sound.

Not from the loud thud of the fall

But from the life it gave to all.