If trees could talk

If the trees could talk, what do you think they would say?
Would they tell us of their history?
How they grew from a tiny seed?

How would they see man's history?
Would it be any different from how we see our own?
Would they excuse our greed?
Would they say that we ruined Eden to build steel castles?

What would we say to them?
What excuses would we give?
I for one would be out of words.

Reviews

[lessa (kenzie)]

Oh Heck Yeah! Your second stanza rocked...
This is amazing as well as awesome!
I like your style of writing

[tranquilspace]

The way you questioned the readers was nice 'if trees could talk'. If trees could talk we'd probably be punished for our actions towards them, nicely put piece.

[Einstein Noodle]

in the 60s i lived for a time just outside Taos, NM. There was a very old and usually drunk Indian man who hung out on his favorite corner .. his message was always the same .. shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ... trees talk! shhhhhhhhhhhh ..... ;) i will never forget that man .. just because of that.
a little different perspective than what your poem implies; but i wonder if they are relieved that we use so much stone and mortar :))
E.

[light and ashes]

Lol ok :) thank you for stopping by.

[Shelley Warner]

Yes, if trees could talk. I was watching a news story about the earth quake in Haiti. They were warning of a tropical storm coming which would make things so much worse. It was mentioned that much of Haiti's trees, which would protect against flooding, are gone. Sad.

[red93]

Really excellent piece with a good strong eco-message.

[Tim]

I'd thank them for the shade they give as well as the fruit. I'd wonder if they were ever injured by lightning. If they saw war, if they were responsible for deflecting pollution from us. And how many sat at their feet, appreciative of their protection from the hot sun.

A nice poem to think about.

[sharonlee]

Thought provoking piece!
I have been in conversation with trees,
or it seemed at the time,
and apologised for the behaviour of humankind
They are more forgiving then one would think
considering humanity pushes tree to the brink
of extinction...

Sharonlee

[Ruth]

Oh goodness - superb piece :) Having a few trees as companions in my life, I would say it boils down to one thing - we don't deserve such beauty in the world at times...humanity has forgotten the important things in life it seems, sadly - materialism has far overtaken the complex beauty of nature for far too many. I would ask them for forgiveness if possible, for the error of being treated so poorly and as for them - perhaps they have no need for questions, perhaps their consciousness is far greater than ours. I love this poem...stay well :)

[light and ashes]

Thank you, Ruth.

[barleygirl]

I read something recently that suggests trees (& other natural phenomena) are not plagued by this infernal questioning, as in your poem, which is a trademark of humans alone. And in this, the trees are lucky they are NOT as we anthropomorphize them to be. They simply sip from the sustenance that's there & they die if they don't. I agree with everything you're saying. I just think this sounds like a human with a horribly guilty conscience & nothing at all like a tree sees life (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[light and ashes]

Oh, I know. This is a pondering on how trees would question things if they had the ability to question. Maybe, it is a little bit of a product of guilty human consciousness, but the point is that we should feel guilty. We were left with the responsibility of taking care of this planet and we have made a mess of it. We were given the keys to the garden. Human beings need to finally step up and take responsibility for caring for the earth, like we were always supposed to do in the first place.

[Betty Hermelee]

There are no excuses ,in my mind, about what a tree would think of us now; how we ruine d their "playground" stunted their growth, cut them down, made cities out of their wooded dreams; A true nature poem with an important and relevant content. Thanks for sharing!
Best, Betty

[light and ashes]

Thank you!