The Cedar Tree

In my youth I rested under the arms of your branches

Beneath the scent of your perfume none matches

Your aromatic bouquet comforted me from ashes

Though I heard the sounds of wailing unanswered

The echoes of bombs firing furiously

The children gathered in silence, inferiorly

You stood in stature, covering me mysteriously

Ancient civilizations imported you materially

Carving ships, houses and palaces defined

Circumcision and leprosy applied you enshrined

Foreign leaders tendered you in gesture consigned

Centered of our, honoured proudly assigned

Revered on our Coat of Arms gleaming

Virgins cleave to your forestry dreaming

Accolades in the Bible, paying homage, esteeming

Pleasure you create in hearts expecting

Arz el-Rab you are decreed to be

Shading our country with your topography

Fleets of the sea you accompanied granderously

Splendour of greenery on high grounds jubilee

Finery of branches and forest shadows guaranteed

Skins of timber delicately fashioned agreeably

Green your conifer reaching out favourably

In abundant grandeur there stands the Cedar Tree.

Salwa Samra © 2016

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