Sometimes I perceive a solitary man
Standing by the side of a lonesome tree
Eyes hooked to the pavement
Lost in the wilderness of rushing cars
Hooting and tooting flying past the drudgery road
Roughened hair disheveled by the dusty wind
Bony and shriveled fingers knotted and resting
On the dry branch of the ‘lonesome tree’
Emaciated and spent of rueful life
I pass by him… he curiously throws a curvy smile
I wonder why he stands there everyday
Come sunshine
Come rain
Come winter
Come fog
His relentless craving to stand by its side
Raises innumerable questions in my mind
I smile back at him
He nods his head
I dare to talk to him a little afraid of rebuke
For he stands there lost in some faraway memory
I stand there… should I, should I not?
My hesitancy instills in him a will to talk
I surrender
He speaks willingly:
“Sometimes ago this ‘lonesome tree’ was not bare”
“It flooded with leaves and fruits”
“The heavy boughs touched the ground”
“Bowing to God’s bounty”
“A gregarious man cut down the tree to build a road”
“And
Walked away with the laden branches”
“Ruthlessly shredding them to pieces”
“I survived
And
Hang here eternally
Mourning the loss”
~Shobha Diwakar
Jabalpur, India
In a very simple way Ms Diwakar has made a very significant point regarding conservation and preservation of trees. By cutting them down we are gradually bringing about our own end.