What do you see in a piece of oak?

 

Pygmalion saw Galatea in his ivory;
Ju Ming made his bronze and painted wood dance,
Raise their hands, kneel and kick and
Spread their arms
In perfect harmony of Tai Chi.
What do you see in a piece of oak? 
*Milen Vassilev saw a flower sprouting, growing, blossomig
And with his fingers, swift as dancers,
Partnered with a scientist’s precision,
Calculating what had to leave and what remained,
Roughing out edges, cutting, trimming, polishing -
The  flower **blooming at last - in our city;
Not unlike a poet who first saw a flower
And planted the seed of inspiration,
Under the soil of passion
Watered it with words,
Weeded out a dull metaphor,
A vague allusion
Until a prim rose appeared on his note paper,
Then developed into a Clarkia Amoena:
Four purplish pink petals,
Velvety and supple
And for a moment, he recalled the fragrance
One late April morning. 

By Tammy

* Milen Vassilev is a Bulgarian sculptor renowned for blending his art works with the natural environment and creating sculptures on the theme of plants
** "Blooming" is a sculpture made out of a piece of oak.  It was exhibited in a territory-wide sculpture exhibition.  After the event, exhibits have been placed in various parts of Hong Kong.  "Blooming" has been placed in the secondary school where I teach.