“Refuse no one the good on which he has a claim
when it is in your power to do it for him.”
Book of Proverbs, Bible
“Refuse none help that cry for it”
And it is celebrated virtue
So exhorted for a thousand years,
But still the trees are mystified
That in their general innocence,
Their generosity and grace
That lifts us all,
Their cries for no more help
Than to be left alone in endless peace,
Each Bodhisattva bridging Earth and Heaven –
These cries
Fall into the graves
Of human ears
And seal our fate,
Entwined.
2009