Trees and men
Twinned from birth
In a Garden made by G‑d

When Beginning began
At the trunk of time
Nature first stretched her limbs
Mankind his branches

Created developed
Planted fully grown
Man of knowledge
Mother of all life

Resting beneath
Their elder twin
Towering and kindly
Mighty men of the field

Both were born
From mother earth
Both still strive
Ever upwards
Towards their Father in Heaven
Who blessed them both
In infancy
To be productive

For what is man
But a frame
Of living wood
With a bark of flesh
Whose spent years
Are carefully recorded
In the rings of his soul
To be counted and measured
When his tree is felled...?

The Supreme Gardener
Cautioned man
And his partner
To be faithful
Not to intrude
On the other couple
In that summer garden:
The Tree of Knowledge
And that of Life –
Their twin...

It was summer:
The sun of G‑dliness
Shone with clarity
Gladdening all
With truth

Yet ignoring the warmth
In the face of the sun
The newborns rebelled
Gave of their fruit
Ate from their twin...

Summer ended:
Spiritual illumination
Sadly set
The garden lay
In bewildering exile
The longest winter
Spiritual confusion
Darkness of soul
Perversion of knowledge
Death of life

Now horns of thorns
Seas of weeds
Surround and mock
Infertile trees
Barren of fruit
Unproductive in life
Felled for the use
Of their frozen frames

Now wild traits
Bitter fruits
Barren of G‑d
Unproductive to life
Destructive to all
Born in man's soul
Its full potential
In hibernation
For the winter

Life redefined
As gain through pain
Knowledge obtained
With tragedy and trial
Man with toil
Tills his soil
Every birth
A storm of ache

All from the earth
That reach for the sky
During winter
Seemingly die
Loose their leaves
Return their soul
To their soil...

In disgrace
The trees gave
Their leaves to man
To cover his shame

For like man
Trees attempt
To cover with colored
Leaves that impress
Concealing their essence

Yet should a wind
Of truth blow hard
The bright facade
Will give away
Bare branches
Of self beneath...

Will G‑d's Garden
Winter forever?!
Where can be found
Seeds of summer
Warmth of knowledge
Sun of G‑d
Spring of life??

Behold the scene
Signs of spring
Awe and hope
Slaves turned kings

Empire of the Pharaohs
Enslavement to evil
Dries up and withers
As nature capsizes

Giving birth to a nation
Born to battle
Subdue and transform
Winter's every rage
With weapons of knowledge
Sowing seeds of life...

On a barren mountain
Now blooming with plants
Under desert sky
Dense with clouds
Sandy wastelands
Crowded with populace
Silent wildernesses
Shaking with thunder
G‑d returns
Visits His Garden
Sowing sparks
Of summer's return
Transmitting Torah
His Garden Manual
Trees of knowledge
And life combined
These trees though
Are not of the Garden
These are fruits
Of G‑d's own trees

Man will bask
Never again
In a Garden of G‑d
Surrounded with trees
Not born of his efforts
Fruits of life
On branches of shame
He must now toil
Planting charity
Bulbs of divinity
In winter's furrows
In valleys of tears...

A tree sends
Its roots to breach
The stiffened earth
Extracting waters
Of life beneath
Drawing them into
Its highest branches
Whose spread leaves
Absorb the sun
And thus the tree
Traps and merges
Heaven and earth
And stores them in fruit

Man's soul
Similarly strives
To penetrate
Its body of clay
Harsh reality
Extracting drops
Of knowledge and life
To blend with energy
Of faith and light
It absorbs from Above
And then his fruits
Are sweet with truth...

And with summer's
Imminent return
The desert of our history
Plantings of our misery
Watered with our tears
Nourished with our joys
Rooted in our trust
Will suddenly flourish
As towering trees
Of knowledge and life
Wholly productive
Potentials unlocked
Every branch
Will carry its fruits
Every soul
Will express summer
All lost knowledge
Will make itself known
Every lost life
Will return to the garden
All of Creation
A Garden filled
With trees grown
And nurtured by G‑d --
And Man...