“It’s not beautiful” replied the old man.
“Of course it is!” snapped the young man.
“It’s not even an oak,” said the old man.
“Yes it is, I know an oak tree when I see it” replied the young man.
“In fact it’s not even a tree,” said the old man.
“What!” exclaimed the young man.
“And in fact we’re not really looking at it” added the old man.
“Have you been drinking?” asked the young man.
“It’s what we’ve named a tree, it’s what we’ve named an oak, and beautiful is a word we use to describe it” said the old man.
“That’s what I said” replied the young man.
“No, you told me to look at something through your eyes” said the old man, “and you have far better eyesight than me”.
“That’s because I’m much younger than you”, the young man said proudly.
“No, it’s because I’m much older than you” replied the old man.
“But that’s the same thing, isn’t it? said the young man.
“Depends how you look at it” said the old man.
“What, at the oak tree?” inquired the young man.
“What oak tree?” said the old man.
Words and music: Peter Conner
Image: Stephen Noble