The Gnarled Oak
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This is a Taoist poem. It relates to a chapter in the Chuang Tzu, wherin the gnarled oak serves as a metaphor for the safety from worldly cares offered by the contemplative life.
The Gnarled Oak
Uselessness has virtues.
When you're cast aside,
Seen only askance;
There's no suffering from immodesty.
The tree grown lumpy and misshapen
Lives long and is never felled for planks.
That tree will live and love the sun,
Put out fresh leaves season on season.
Children will skip across its roots,
Lovers loll beneath its boughs.
It will shade the weary traveler
And comfort the old men.
The malice of disappointed carpenters
Will never touch its heart of wonder
Nor mar its content.
If you say this tree lacks virtue,
I'll say that you lack vision.
There is much more to be seen looking between things
Than by looking at them.
When you want to see me,
See my shadow.
If you want to hear me,
Consult my eyes.
If you would touch me,
Touch yourself.
Reflections sustain reality:
Dewdrops on a leaf
Try to understand; you will fail.
Accept, you shall gain.
If you run, you'll trip
But walk, you'll arrive.
Look for nothing; you shall find.
I know this is the understanding
Of the gnarled oak.
Copyright © William Masonis | Year Posted 2021
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