guardian trees

by Idris Mears

whether the tree was planted

and staked with intention

or whether it was a wild sapling

destiny pushed through

the undergrowth of the Norwich cemetery

i don’t know

but God knew and God knows

the branches spread a shade

of peace over my companions

and God knows us each

and our resting places

and I hope to lie under it too

or under another of the guardian

trees of paradise

in paris or Constantia or abu ayyub

or on the mountain top

under the cork oak beside the great qutb

trees watered by the mercy of centuries

as in my short time I have been rained on

by the blessing of the water

I drank at the breaking of the fast

the joy of the water I swam in

the cleansing of the water

I used to prepare for prayer

and in course the water used

to wash me for the grave

By Idris Mears, in A Kaleidoscope of Stories: Muslim Voices in Contemporary Poetry (Lote Tree Press, 2020)  www.lotetreepress.com