We Decided To Cut Some Trees Poem by RIC BASTASA

we planted the seeds together
we were thinking of fruits
for our children
we were thinking of the shade
where they can
in the future play

then the fruits in bounty came
mangoes loaded
and some water apples
shining on the twigs

the fruits ripen and some birds
came and ate them
the fruits ripen and some fell
on the ground and some
worms came and ate them

the trees get tired finally of the
seasons
flowering, fruiting, falling and
rotting and trying to
repeat the cycle all over
again
for years and years

we got old of waiting for something
new and exciting
we got bored of the fruits
the children of the neighbors
got married and left the place

we got old and tired and this day
we decided to cut the trees
some for the first time
we are too shaded
we want to see light come
we want to know what sunshine is

again, after all those years
of coldness and darkness under
the shady trees

perhaps, this is something new now
light and sun and another way to look
at our lives
something exciting something to open

to see blue skies to see the full moon
to feel warmth to let the worms sing
to see some precious stones
hidden all these years in our common paths