On Killing a Tree – Gieve Patel
Now read the poem which speaks about the pain of trees.
It takes much time to kill a tree, Not a simple jab of the knife Will do it. It has grown Slowly consuming the earth, Rising out of it, feeding Upon its crust, absorbing Years of sunlight, air, water, And out of its leperous hide Sprouting leaves. So hack and chop But this alone wont do it. Not so much pain will do it. The bleeding bark will heal And from close to the ground Will rise curled green twigs, Miniature boughs Which if unchecked will expand again To former size. No, The root is to be pulled out – Out of the anchoring earth; It is to be roped, tied, And pulled out – snapped out Or pulled out entirely, Out from the earth-cave, And the strength of the tree exposed The source, white and wet, The most sensitive, hidden For years inside the earth. Then the matter Of scorching and choking In sun and air, Browning, hardening, Twisting, withering, And then it is done.
It Means:
leperous – (covered with scales)
hide – (strong thick outer skin)
boughs – கிளை
snapped – முறிந்து
scorching – எரிச்சல்
choking – மூச்சுத் திணறல்
hardening – கடினப்படுத்தல்
withering – வாடி
Glossary
jab (v) : to poke, or thrust abruptly or sharply with a short, quick blow
crust (n) : the brown, hard outer portion or surface
leprous (adj) : covered with scales
hide (n) : the strong thick outer skin
miniature (adj.) : very small
It Means:
poke – குத்து
thrust – உந்துதல்
abruptly – திடீரென்று
About the Author
Dr. Gieve Patel is one of the prominent Indian poets. His famous works include Evening, Forensic Medicine, and From Bombay Central. He has also penned three plays. He has been conducting a poetry workshop in Rishi Valley School for more than a decade. This poem is taken from his poetry collection ‘Poems’ published in 1966.