Do Not Touch Poem by Mohammad Yousef

By Mohammad A.Yousef


A sign hangs from the branch,
its letters bold, a warning in black,
a simple phrase,
like a whisper in a room full of noise
—
"Do Not Touch."

Bright green leaves dance in the wind,
the tree stands proud,
the trunk a tapestry
of knots and scars,
where stories of storms
are etched deep in old bark.
Children walk by,
cautious,
eyes wide with wonder,
daring to get closer,
this beauty wraps them in a spell.

What is it about the untouched?
The thrill of the unknown,
the pull of the forbidden,
like the secret behind a locked door,
or the first taste of summer rain.

But this tree,
it longs to be admired from afar.
Its branches stretch, a grand lunge,
as if reaching for the sky,
yearning for freedom,
a heart seeking peace
without hands to tear it down.

Imagine—
soft fingers trailing over bark,
the warmth of life,
the sensation of nature,
but sometimes,
the best thing to do
is to let it be.

To let others ask
from behind the fence,
to allow the light to filter through leaves,
casting shadows on a ground
where forgotten dreams may lie,
untouched, pure,
like the echo of laughter
on a clear spring morning.

So linger a little longer,
stay curious from a distance,
feel the air change,
listen to the voices of the birds,
and understand the peace
of leaving something be.

For not every treasure
needs to be held close—
sometimes the beauty
of what we see,
is made brighter
by the space
we allow it to breathe.