ROMANCE OF THE TREE AND LIFE

The seed was the first whisper, closed in on itself,

holding within its tiny womb all the history yet to be born.

It descended to earth not as a rest, but as a pact:

to surrender to the darkness in order to learn to see the light.

The tree grew like a bridge between two worlds.

Its roots conversed silently with what has already gone,

while its branches raised their arms toward what has yet to arrive.

It was a home for the bird, shade for the weary,

a slow breath that sustained the rhythm of day and night.

Life loved it with hands of rain and golden sun.

It taught it that growing is not only about rising,

but also about sinking deep so as not to be blown away by the wind.

Each ring on its trunk was a kiss kept safe,

a year that passed and remained etched in its being.

 The moment arrived when its leaves began to fall,

not as a defeat, but as a return.

The tree did not fight against the coming calm.

It embraced death as one embraces an old friend:

with gratitude for all that had been lived, without fear of the silence that would follow.

Because it knew it would not disappear, but rather change form.

It would become fertilizer for the seed that will awaken tomorrow,

firewood to warm someone on a cold night,

wood to support a roof or rock a child’s cradle.

There was no end, only a transformation.

The tree merged with the earth that sustained it,

and in that intimate and eternal embrace,

life and death joined hands,

understanding that they were always two halves of the same heartbeat.

GRACIELA NOEMI VILLAVERDE is a writer and poet from Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Rios) Argentina. Based in Buenos Aires, she graduated in letters and is the author of seven books of poetry which have won several awards. She works as the World Manager of Educational and Social Projects, of the Hispanic World Union of Writers. UHE World Honorary President of the same institution Activa de la Sade, Argentine Society of Writers. Commissioner of honor in the executive cabinet IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS DIVISION, of the UNACCC SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINA CHAPTER.