Did you know that trees have feelings
And they know how you feel too?
They communicate one to another,
They tell their needs, and give and take
Across their network of roots underground.
Did we copy the forest root systems
To make the telephone cable network,
To mar the view with electric wires?
Was it the trees that taught us how?
Near my home just blocks away
Is Lakeside Park near Lake Merritt,
Once part of a vacay place
Before the 1906 quake
For San Francisco women of wealth.
In 1907 carloads of trees
Were planted in Lakeside Park.
From Europe, Asia, and Africa,
Wealthy women shipped the trees,
One of a kind, that are not native.
Do these trees remember the tree talk
Of their sapling stage long back?
If they recall the rhythm and feeling,
The strength and uniqueness of their start,
Then, when they chat among themselves,
A United Nations of trees talking
International peace and flourishing.
These more than 100-year old transplants
Constantly whisper along their roots.
Did you know that trees have feelings
And they care one for the other?
Did you know that these trees stand
In Lakeside Park for peace on earth?
Did you know in ancient times
The tree stood for the Mother Goddess.
Just like Her they feed and shelter.
Just like her they heal and guide.
Did you know that every tree,
Wherever it stands, is a Tree of Life.
Rev. Aikya Param is an ordained minister serving as Staff Minister at Agape Bay Area. This poem was written as a project for the ROOTS class she is taking with Rev. Verona Garland and amazing, creative, compassionate sages. For more by Rev. Aikya, see authory.comAikyaParam/