Dead Tree Walking

                                                       Dead Tree Walking

               "I came from Paradise lost, would you walk with me?"

Limb of a dead tree resembling a headless

human figure, España, Manila 2007

I am the ghost that walks

    from a forest before;

I am the conscience of man

    sleeping in its core.

I am the memory

    from the distant past;

lost among the throng,

    living in the dust.

I came from Paradise lost,

    orphaned by the First Sin;

the hands that cared for me

    can't now be seen.

I long for a heaven, too,

    a gift of being good and true,

but if heaven is only for man,

    I did serve him through.

But I am a ghost now.

    Would man join me for a walk

to tell the world the story

    of a once mighty oak? ~

Author's Note: Is the kapre that dwells in old big trees true after all?  Utter tabi tabi (bari bari Ilk) while making your way on an unbeaten path.  Pour a few drops of your drink before you down your glass.  Have you heard the song of a whale?  How about that of a mermaid? Anaconda can grow up to 20 meters long! You are lucky if you can pick a leaf of makahiya (Mimosa pudica) fresh and not drooping.  If you find a four-leaf clover don't miss the lottery. ~