POLAR TREE FUNERAL

FUNERAL SPEECH

We have gathered here today to bury a Tree — a Poplar. This ceremony is secular. It is an artistic action. I hope the atmosphere of this event will be cheerful yet not devoid of reflection and contemplation.
 

This is an unusual situation, and perhaps it is the first endeavor of its kind in the world. I say “perhaps,” because even though I haven’t found any record of a similar activity, in the long history of human relationships with the environment, it’s hard to rule out that such a thing may have already happened. Maybe in distant times? The Poplar now lying before us was previously lying in a meadow by a roadside in one of the villages of the Mazovian region. It was cut down to be turned into boards, likely to be used on nearby farms. It occurred to me that it ought to be given a burial. From the Poplar’s trunk, I carved a sculpture in the shape of a coffin. For the first time, the container is also the content. The sarcophagus is solid.
 

From its growth rings, we know that the Poplar was exactly one hundred and twenty-four years old. Knowing the place where it grew, I believe it had a pleasant life, despite the turbulent twentieth century, despite two world wars. It seems to me that it departed without regret, strong and fulfilled.
 

No doubt many of you are wondering what prompted me to undertake this action. As you can see, I engraved the phrase “You & I are Earth” on the monument. That epitaph is, for me, the essence of this undertaking. I took it from a Dutch plate, which in recent years was pulled out of the River Thames in London. The plate bears this exact inscription and the date: 1661. When I was a teenager and became aware of my own existence—when I started asking questions and pondering the nature of being—one of my first observations was that everything that exists forms a greater unity than might be apparent at first glance. I thought then that if you looked at the Earth from a distant star, you would see precisely this oneness, within which there is diversity. In my view, this simple shift in perspective truly allows us to see the Earth and all its beings more as one entity than as separate existences. People, animals, trees, and other plants, and even inanimate matter, share much more in common, in my opinion, than our customs and laws might suggest. Besides, all these forms of existence constantly intermingle and exchange within the Earth’s ecosystem. You & I are Earth. We are dust, as some prefer to call it, or simply earth, as I myself prefer to think of it. That is the main motivation behind this action.
 

Trees have always inspired my admiration and awe. They are remarkable representatives of a large group of underappreciated earthly beings, and so today I would like, together with all of you, to honor these beings—symbolically burying this Poplar and placing a monument in the form of a gravestone.
 

Please let us now proceed with the burial rites. I propose that anyone who wishes come forward to the Poplar; you may touch it. Shortly, we will lower it into the grave. I will need eight men to help. I have prepared special straps for this purpose. Then, anyone who would like to may toss in a handful of soil. Please pour the soil between the coffin and the edge of the pit. I would like to leave the upper part of the sculpture uncovered, at least for some time.
 

You & I are Earth.