SEEKING THE TREE Poem by Wang Jiaxin

— In Memory of Andrei Tarkovsky
We come to Gotland to look for a lone tree—
The tree in your last film that
Grows leaves after death

We search along the coast and find
No single tree by itself
Only woods and forests
"Impossible to survive alone"
On this windy island. A tree stands by itself
In your mind only

Even its shadow will betray it
Unless a boy waters it everyday with a bucket
Taller than himself

Unless the tree grows out of a seed of tears

2010