mountain ash, elm, poplar and weeping
willow, my cherished sisters
children of my mother earth
you are a paradigm of gratitude
the blanket you knit to cover
our naked mother as the cold winter
advances to cover her feeble body
sustaining us in life and in death
shedding your very organ, you absorb
the energy our father sun sends
with such impartiality on the selfish
and the very liberal to warm and nourish,
your willing sacrifice puts me
to shame that i, the leader
with all my learning have mastered
nothing but egotistic grabbing
and have miserably failed
to learn even basic skills
on generous giving
you teach eloquently with regularity
henry victor
09.10.2002
