I Look At A Tree And I Find It Poem by Salil Chaturvedi

I look at a tree and I find it
taller
than any man I've ever met
or heard
or told or read about

In its stance I find more meaning
than in any word or phrase
I've ever uttered

I look at it stand in the harshest of suns
and watch its canopy cover
all arguments
with space to spare for some sparring sparrows

In its shadows
I find the flesh of all philosophies
pecked at, eaten and dropped back to the soil
as nutrients for nematodes

I look at a tree and how I wish
for squirrels to run up my back
for owls to nestle in my armpits
for a hard lignin to cover my ears and my eyes
and for my hands to fall upwards
where starlight beckons.