Compass unseen of Should and of Must
Born of shared sorrows and ancestral dust

Roots buried under the canopy of branches
Extending through time and space

Intertwined in the bedrock of culture
Two silent rivers in a verdant frame
Draw life’s draught and ghosts of journeys past

Xylem and phloem flow through the invisible veins of divinity
Nurturing
Strains, beliefs and traditions burden identity
Perpetuating

Through porous walls
The skeletal embrace holds firm and fast
A spine where
Cohesion,
Belonging
Continuity
Resistance
Exclusion
Conflict
Abide together

Memorabilia hanging proudly, unbridled
Stifling wholeness and tolerance
Sentencing Beingness to stone

The tree’s crystal blood, in sun and silent snow
turns into crimson tides
Infinite oil drops immiscible on the waters of oneness
Weep on the fragile cathedral of what we deem certain