Tree

Yes, often an olive wants to be a fish,
An almond often wishes to be a bird
I am pretty well accustomed to being like this now
Just a while ago I changed into human form
For a few minutes
My supple soft skin, my bones and the flesh wrapping around them
They all felt eerie to me
But in a while when I revert to being a tree
How fondly I will reminisce
About the human body I have now
My fingers, nails, and joints

How marvelous!
I have bones; I have muscles to pull my bones,
And skin covers all
My blood is coursing on and on
I can move myself, like this, any way I want to
I can point at the sky
I can stroke my hair!

Grasses, leaves, fruit or branches cannot do what I can –
They stretch their branches, turn their leaves
Lazily toward the light,
Yes, really, “lazily” as you’d say in human tongue
But when I was a tree, it did not feel so lazy
Rather, it was more like securely
Rather, it was more like steadily
What is this fury inside the human body?
It makes me dizzy
Look
Bones and muscles shed their old selves
To make new bones and muscles

Much has changed between now and just a while ago
When I first met you
So this is what aging means, isn’t it?

Uh,
Your two manly hands
Like rough palm leaves
Rest on my two shoulders
What is this numbing warmth your hands convey
To my muscles and bones?
To speak
We trees don’t have words
Time is running out
Once the time comes, I won’t ever be
A human like this, forever
Tell me
How else are humans different from trees?
What is this?
What is this mysterious warmth
That comes to me through your fingers?
Tell me,
Something I missed doing
Not much time left
Yes –
What a pleasant thing to do, to respond.

Please, tell me.

As I place my hand here like so
The sound of your blood rushing in your chest
Grows so fast

Time is running out. Please, please tell me
What is the biggest thing I missed doing.

I feel as if there is something I should do, something fervent
Something I’d move my muscles for
Something I’d violently rub my joints for
To chat
Isn’t there something else that is more important?
What is it?
What is this something humans do to be wholly human?

Just a while back
When you placed your manly hands on my womanly shoulders
My female muscles and bones felt a certain
Fulfillment and warmth
Doesn’t that have much to do with
What I have yet to do?
Am I not missing something
Something violent
That goes well with the fury of metabolism
In this human body that holds bones and muscles?

But maybe I am wrong
Am I just babbling human words
While thinking like a tree?
What?
Are you saying I’ve missed doing something?
Tell me
Please
Why do you hesitate?
So you are saying, aren’t you, it is different from
Talking,
Pointing,
Jumping,
Counting numbers and the like?

Goodness, how pained you look!

I thought humans had a wonderful thing called words
Which allow you
To convey, to inform or to express anything you want to,
But there are things that words can’t help –
Ah, there’s no time left

I want to know
What it is that I missed doing

With no words,
This
Is what you can tell me, isn’t it?

As you clasp my shoulder as you are doing now
With your five fingers wrapped around my shoulder
Your thumb
Your forefinger
Your middle finger
Your ring finger
And your little finger
Five shocks run through me

Hurry! Time is running out!

TREE