I was delighted to discover linden trees, Tilia tomentosa, in Thessaloniki last month, and in bloom, smelling so sweet. This month I came across a poem about them.

LINDEN TREE WHISPERS

You know how the linden tree whispers
In the springtime, at night, by the light of the moon?
My love sleeps, my love sleeps,
Let’s go and wake her up, kiss her eyes.
My love sleeps . . .
You heard because of the way the linden tree whispers.

Do you know how the old grove sleeps?
It sees everything, even through the fog.
Here is the moon, here are the stars, the nightingales.
“I am yours,” overheard the old grove.
And those nightingales . . .
Well! You already know, how the old grove sleeps!

-Pavlo Tychyna (1891-1967) Ukraine