The Language Of The Tree Poem by RIC BASTASA

i am looking for a new voice
it lurks still inside my throat
i want to speak but i still can't
my father does not like it
if i were to speak the language that i know
since i was a kid
my father shall rise from his grave
to stop what i must utter

i am still looking for a new voice
it must not sound like his law
it shall speak the language of the tree
deprived of leaves and yet still keeps all the twigs.

i like the chirps of birds, the whimpers of wings,
the sweet silence of the shells....