Cristina Salas
The Tree of Peace
Peace is alive.
It is a root, a stem, a living thing.
It needs the sun of kindness,
the water of care,
the soil of justice,
and love to fill the air.
It needs its visitors:
the bird, the butterfly, the bee,
and every creature, you and me —
for peace cannot live alone;
it lives in community.
When a tree lacks what it needs, it dies.
It can fall to a sudden storm or disease.
Peace, too, can fade and cease.
Yet even in the dark, the root remembers.
It can sprout again from the deepest ground
and grow until a forest is found.
If I woke tomorrow and the world was whole,
and the storm was gone,
I would paint this flowering tree for you.
For peace begins as a single seed,
waiting to become a forest.
Cristina Salas is a Quito-born, Brooklyn-based artist, illustrator, and storyteller. Blending fine art, architecture, and ecology, her work builds living sanctuaries that explore natural systems, trees, and the connection between inner peace and the environment. She holds degrees from Italy, Spain, and the US, and creates public mosaic installations, pollinator garden sculptures, and whimsical works on paper that imagine a more peaceful, interconnected world.
“Tree of Peace,” watercolor, pencils and embroidery on paper (46cmx61cm)
