Answers / Guiding Tree | 2 poems by Andre Bshara

Guiding Tree

Failing to see what lies ahead
A pathway curved from my foot’s tread
I stop to feel a textured tree –
of the forest surrounding me

The forest speaks through my fingertips
My roots connected to hers
Feeling nature through this grip
From pine to prickly fir

Finally, I know the way
And through touch can plainly see
If ever a God should exist today
It would be the guiding tree

Answers

“What am I meant to be?”

You ask the river, flowing casually
Through the forest’s muddied banks
Filling the silence with the soft
Rush of its personality

“Whom am I meant to serve?”

You ask the lake, deep and exposed
As it turns waste to life,
Its ecosystem gleaming with the variety
Of a thousand stones

“Why do I exist?”

You ask the ocean, and it answers
With its violent throes:
“You, like me, are good
And that is why you exist.”

Andre Bshara was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where he is currently training to be a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician. Andre’s medical focus lies in providing critical care in global and refugee settings. His writing serves as a reprieve from his busy medical life; otherwise, he enjoys being outside, exercising, playing video games, and reading.