(To Eliseo Pastrano)
Giants grow large and tall,
To reach the clouds in silence
And watch the ends of the earth.
Cradle a seed, a life at a time.
Like angels, they set off
To fly across the land
As they race with the breeze,
Bringing life far from their homes.
Touch the heavens alone—
One leaf at a time,
One memory gone each time.
Giants grow old and ill—
In silence, their voices became the wind.

Photo by Dan Cook on Unsplash
© 2020 Onie Maniego and The Paper Drafts