Looking at the Never Seen

A Poem from A Mindfulness Hike

Today I looked at a fallen leaf as if I’d never seen one before,

and I saw The Tree for the true artist it is,

working in fine paper leather,

sacrificing its own veins for self-expression,

taking the time to carefully age and burnish its medium,

a master of die-cuts that live and die by its listening.

The Tree is the most generous of artists,

letting go of all its work,

the masterpieces and pocked efforts,

the modest and mass-produced,

the first and last canvasses,

without condition of being noticed, understood, or cherished.

Inclined to begin again.

And I wondered

if I too

could be

so willing.

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About the author: Lavina Velasco is a Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC) trained at Johns Hopkins University, specializing in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and addictions.

Photo by Payton Schreiber-Pan