The Death of Another Tree in Cebu

Just this summer,
I biked around with a group of cool folks,
pedaling towards sustainability...

In one of our rides,
we did a tour of the heritage sites,
and we visited the Caretta cemetery...
Where both the dead and the living co-exist in morbid harmony...
Both the dead and the living families
LIVE here in the cemetery...

There are also some interesting trees clinging on to their lives
on the stone walls of this cemetery...
these trees witnessed some really interesting events and burials,
thats why they are also part of the heritage of our city....

Here you will see some of my friends resting near one of these large trees ...

This tree sprang from the stone walls of the cemetery,
giving shade to the lapida makers,
giving oxygen to the residents,
absorbing the heat from all the cement and asphalt,
taking in all the carbon dioxide from the cars, buses and trucks exhaust,
holding the water underground during the many years of torrential rains,
and doing a lot more that we dont want to be bothered with...
like shedding its leaves to make the ground fertile,
dropping off its tiny branches so we can have some firewood...

The other day I was surprised to see this...

Some guy with an ax to grind with the living,
decided what gets to live,
and what gets to die...
Well, you know the fate of this tree...
to join the rest of the dead in this cemetery...
probably to give life to a concrete driveway,
to bow down to the cars
that will enter this high rise columbary,
where humans have arrogantly claimed
to be on the top of the hierarchy of the living,
only to realize that they will ultimately turn to dust...
Dust that should return to the ground
and not in some concrete vault,
where only those who can afford to pay the lease,
get to have a few inches of space.

So I grieve the loss of the spirit of this tree-
yes, this tree not only has life,
but is also the breather of life....
When will we ever realise
that we are nothing,
without trees...