Monday, November 7, 2016

Journey's End with Ficus superba

I dedicate this poem to the ill-fated gentle giant of a veritable old tree Ficus superba of Tanah Merah (Limau Estate) woods.

Injustice truly for you to be felled. Thank you for letting me walk the last mile with you. But it is not the end for you and me. I have carried you to the mountain of Taiwan and planted a seed from my heart. When the wind blow I will hear you rustle above the eave of my conciousness.



Journey's End At Beitou Library

A scholar's balcony
Looks out from
A mother's heart
Embracing a fig bough
With her eave
Where a furry squirrel
Finds love and warmth.
There is a rhythm of rest
Fresh-breezy woody
Where beneath his perch
A sweet brook runs
With songs of loving kindness
From the mountain above.
A scholar's balcony embraces all
Not from knowledge
But from a heart that moves
His mind to the expanse
Of the universe
His home.

- Joseph Lai

Afternotes: innovation = knowledge + will + kindness. Our giant fig was killed by the lack of the latter two. There was simply no will for innovative development which could have preserved the tree in-situ. See how a giant fig in Beitou is respectfully preserved between a new 5-star hotel and an old hotspring bath.









No comments: