How might one bring to leaf a separate soul,
A seedling with its tree tucked well within,
Placed where rain and sunlight might begin,
Perhaps, to thicken its still slender bole?
Yes, how might one succeed in such a role,
Making sure one's yang leaves room for yin,
One's love is nothing seedlings have to win,
The gift that ought not ever be a goal?
How might one allow a tree to grow
Eventually into something all its own,
Reigning over some sweet sunlit glade
'Mid woods well scattered with its wind-borne seeds?
Sing of the gigantic soul you sow,
Dear sapling many creatures will call home,
As tiny nestlings shelter in its shade
Years from now, when it is thick with leaves.
Copyright by Nicholas Gordon. Free for personal or non-commercial use.