TREE

Deepening the Transformation This version extends the physical and sensory change, blending the man's human elements with the plant's nature. He walked two steps and touched A plant he planted yesterday. Sap came out of his hands into its veins. Leaves came out of his eyes into its branches And when he wanted to return He did not move from his place, His feet had turned Into roots. Then his breath became a whisper through the leaves, a secret told to the passing breeze. His skin, once soft, grew rough and patterned, a bark-bound chronicle of his becoming. The sun drank the memory of his shadow, and the rain learned his new name.