Story of a tree


My mother sowed my seed
under rich, supple earth
it shone and rained all day
to celebrate my birth

A huge family we were
resplendent, strong & green
animals used to woo us
and birds came home to preen

and then you came along
the men-strong and wise
you discovered our beauties
in ways gentle and nice

fruit flower fodder
you reaped us to the core
paper wax rubber
your knowledge grew more

all went hunky dory
till your feet was on ground
but things turned gory
as u went foul and proud

forgetting that other creatures
were fellow inheritors of earth
you used and abused them
all for private mirth

when your family grew
you fell all of mine
on that lifeless extravagant wood
you drank beer and wine

you changed the color of air
you dammed and damned the seas
you chased birds and butterflies
for mosquitoes flies and fleas

i stand here all alone
imploring you to relent
as you dig out soil from under my root
to replace it with cement

in the name of development
bombs are what you make
your greed is clear vulgar
your words hollow and fake

stop it, for once and for all
take only what's your share
or doom will await you
you won't live to care

just what makes you do this?
what's the goal you will meet?
when all is spurned and wasted
what on earth will you eat?

learn to draw the line
between lust and genuine quest
beware of Nature's wrath
because Nature knows the best.

Comments

  1. gulluDecember 14, 2010 at 9:12 PM

    Sonal u beautifully penned down the feelings of a tree.It's a warning to the mankind.The accompanied picture is a real beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownDecember 14, 2010 at 11:12 PM

    wonderful.simple yet powerful.loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AshokDecember 15, 2010 at 7:29 AM

    Sonal, you have a great way with words...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sonal SinghDecember 18, 2010 at 2:26 PM

    thanks for your compliments :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. SpandanFebruary 4, 2017 at 10:21 PM

    excellent one :-) u explained much just in a few words

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seven years since I set SAIL

Image
There are some moments that sink in our minds through the chinks of time. Some words, some lessons that make way through the labyrinths of our sub-conscious, and lie embedded deep somewhere. It is only when we are shaken from our day-to-day reveries, by a long-forgotten fragrance...or a nostalgic song...or a blurred sense of déjà-vu that we get to sneak a peek into our own minds. One such occasion for me was visiting the steel plants of Bokaro and Durgapur, years after I first saw them.   I was among the five new Junior Managers (Communication) who landed in Durgapur way back in 2006. Even before we had officially joined the company, we jested about our choice of joining SAIL. Usually, in the career graphs of people, an ascent is marked by migration to a more developed place. And there we were – five fresh graduates from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in Delhi, with ambitious plans and high dreams, travelling from the mega capital of India to some place people lear
Read more

Happy 40th to my sibling teacher

Image
  He doesn't look 40, does he? A couple of years ago, I picked up a renowned book by Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. I realized after going through the first few pages, that the book didn’t really offer anything new to me, courtesy my sibling teacher, my brother. What the book tried to teach in logic and words, my brother had taught me all along through practical demonstration. Almost all the good habits I have internalized so far, are owed to him. On his 40 th , it’s about time I pay my gratitude in ink. Let’s start with my first life lesson: Abandon labels In the 80s, even with limited access to TV for children of my generation, Bollywood faces were household names. Among them was the lesser known singer and widely popular actor-comedian, Tuntun. In those days, Tuntun was synonymous with overweight bubbly women. As the heaviest among three siblings, never mind that I was just five, brother chose to christen me Tuntun. It didn’t take any ceremony for the na
Read more

The power of silence

Image
Years ago, a friend of mine committed a professional blunder. There was a printing mistake in a piece of collateral involving the corridors of power. The mistake was such that it rendered the whole project useless. Worse, some of the printed material had been distributed. Which meant that along with wasted money, we were now dealing with a reputational blemish.  Since the stakes were high, the matter escalated in no time. The department head was summoned to task. A fearless and frank professional, this person was widely respected for her sharp acumen and transparent dealings. And as is the case with calmly confident people like her, she was a perceived threat to several insecure co-workers. The latter, therefore, jumped at this opportunity to magnify this mistake and make it bigger than it was.  The news was as much a shock to her as it was to the stakeholders. She had, of course, signed the final bill and given the final go-ahead. She had assigned the work to one of her reliable coll
Read more