One day the tree man walked down his village
We in the village stared at him
He was tall with limbs like branches but
a kind man with soft eyes and concerning smile
He was always silently clothed
When he spoke he was always humane but even
then he managed to ruffle heart beats
when he was on display
And yes he was poor, poor like his family before
him
But admirably intelligent in every way
We in our village thought that he was strange
to make us wish he was in another space
From day to dusk we worked and waited for the light
we went without the rice and cursed the hollowed bread
the treeman on one torrid night
went to his hut and stabbed a knife through his
heart