A Kapok Tree, Backlit at Sunset

Tree of dreams   as the expanse behind it sinks into twilight

Its backlit shape takes on a special clarity

There is a hint of swaying in its living upper limbs

For whom this loveliness   these eye-catching pastel lines?

Overflow of lingering beauty radiates into the air

Telling its tale of survival as far as light reaches

In this moment’s cataclysm of the spirit

Enveloped in an aura of nobility

A tree toward which we lean admiringly

On the point of crawling in supplication

Whose hand is turning down the sun’s lamp-wick?

Only its flames are still leaping

Blossom of desire   this season’s invisible flower

Being blown toward high places by the final passion

My soul flies on the branch tips

As gloom closes in   all living things sink into it

In the scenery of the spirit

The silhouette one presents   means everything

Written in 30th of November, 1994

Translated by Denis Mair