TREES – life’s essence

There’s a tree that existed before the woods,
in age twice as old.
Its roots suffered as the valley changed,
its leaves deformed by wind and frost.
People all laugh at its withered aspect,
caring nothing about the core ’s beauty.
When the bark is all stripped off,
only essence remains.

Hanshan
Translated by Tony Barnstone

 The trees were aglow.  Their leaves and branches glistened and seemed to shine from the inside out.  Occasionally there was a silhouette of a bird perched on a branch offerin...