I remember when my mother
Would get angry with me
And I would escape to a tall pecan tree.

I always imagined my mother screaming,
"Where is my dear boy?
He has left and I never got a chance to tell
Him how much I love him."

My mother never did.

So, I stayed up there, watching man-next-door
Mow the lawn or the postman make his rounds.

And eventually,
   I would sink into the strong, loving arms of that tree.
The tree never told me I was bad.
   It never made demands on me.
      It was always nurturing and caring -
         Ever gently rocking.

When I think of the greatest gift
   My child has given me
      It's the moments that she crawls into my lap
         And rests her head against me.

I've become a tree.

A voice travels
   On summer's stillness,
      Clamoring
         Against injustice
            Echoing
               Across the valley,
         But every
      One is so guilty
   Of something,
So, no one listens.

He is joined
   In his bemoanings,
      By lone wolf
    Atop a nearby ridge,
But no one listens.

The test for innocence is happiness.

The test for truth is whether it exists outside pedantries.

The test for a fool is how much how much he must hold on to his ego.

The test for love is silence.

I could tell you the test for happiness, but it would make you less human.

Those who search after truth will be cursed with a loss of station
Those who would love will be cursed with reality
Those who would be humble or courteous will be cursed with pride
Those who would be reverent have a curse in the past
Those who would be self-denying will be cursed three times by others
Those who would praise God will be cursed with fear
Cleanliness is a curse in itself

Those that fear will be blessed in their ignorance
Those that hate will be blessed in their compassion
Those that lie will be blessed in their humanity
Those that envy will be blessed in their possessions