Sapling

Yutang Lin

Sapling without protection
Very easily died young

Fortunate ones that survived and had grown up
Are results of how much caring and cultivation

Each sapling
Holds how many new hopes
And joy of life

Old trunks that already took shape
Are carved all over with traces of seasons and weathers
And marks of aging and damages

One generation succeeded by another generation
Depends on old trunks standing up to storms
To shelter and look after sapling
So that they may grow up
And the significance of the existence of old trunks
Lies in the growth of sapling

Written in Chinese and translated on May 5, 2008
El Cerrito, California

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