Tree of Thorns

                                                         Tree of Thorns 

On display at the Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Artwork made of wild thorny cherry and rosary beads 

against a mural background. (5 ft tall)  AV Rotor 2025. 

One afternoon I saw a leafless cherry tree

     standing all alone is my home garden;

It's autumn, I said, yet monsoon wasn't over;

     I imagined a scene of the lost Eden.

Days passed and my tree remained leafless; 

     its menacing thorns looked like its crown;

I imagined how a proud tree looks in its prime,

     and a bright red rose in the morning sun. 

In the sunset years of life, the cherry and rose,

     carry on their lesson in sweet memory,

their thorns adorned with gems and medals,

     as symbol of man's piety and glory.   

             "A rose's rarest essence lives in the thorn."- Rumi -

* In life, thorns symbolize hardships, challenges, pain, and suffering, contrasting with the beauty of roses (joy/success), teaching resilience, humility, and growth, often representing necessary obstacles that strengthen faith, provide course correction, or test our character, as seen in biblical and philosophical contexts. They signify that struggles make positive moments more meaningful and can be catalysts for spiritual or personal development. AI Overview