The Champak Tree Poem by Valsa George

The Champak Tree

Rating: 4.5


Close to our ancestral home
Is an ancient champak tree
It now stands almost leafless n’ bare
With its face turned to the sun and sky

Once from far, everyone could see
This lush green Champak tree
It stood in all beauty and grace
And carpeted the ground in fallen blooms

Its lovely blossoms were so redolent
Like tube roses, heady and fragrant
In its dark and leafy glade
How as children, we sat and played

Men weary of work in its sprawling shade
Were sheltered from the heat of midday sun
Once it was a bower of sylvan ease
And on its boughs, birds merrily sang

Rustled in wind and shaken in storm
It braved the inclement weather all these years
With its roots boring deep into the ground
Nothing could uproot the tree from its base

How many stories it has to tell
How many robins roosted in its verdure
How many fledglings took wings into the sky,
From the tiny nests built on its twigs

Now its ancient trunk and gnarled branches
Proclaim sadly that it is about to wither
The tree has just turned itself into
A ghostly shadow of its former self

But the fragrance of these champak flowers
Which still bless the tree in one and two
As if determined to proclaim themselves
Continue to perfume the surrounding air

This tree is so much like my ancestral home
Once the seat of life and bounty
Now lying desolate and empty
Stays spreading memories fragrant!

What soulful saga the house can retell
Of how my parents accomplished their task
Putting all into making it a haven sweet
For three generations of an extended family!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Topic(s) of this poem: Tree
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Champak tree is an evergreen tree, known for its strongly fragrant yellow or white flowers
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Rajesh Thankappan 19 April 2014

A wonderful poem where a brilliant analogy has been drawn between the old champak tree and the ancestral home resulting in a beautiful synergy.

1 1 Reply
Salini Nair 17 April 2014

How many stories it has to tell How many robins roosted in its verdure How many fledglings took wings into the sky, From the tiny nests built on its twigs nice poem...a nostalgic feel............like it

1 0 Reply
Dinesan Madathil 15 April 2014

Wonderful champak tree and superb recollection indeed, madam, I think if you were a bird, you would nestle on it. But the present reality is better as that bird would not have written poems on the PH.

0 0 Reply
Dinesan Madathil 15 April 2014

Wonderful champak tree and superb recollection indeed, madam, I think if you were a bird, you would nestle on it. But the present reality is better as that bird would not have written poems on the PH.

0 0 Reply
Tirupathi Chandrupatla 15 April 2014

How many stories it has to tell Ancestral homes have many stories to tell and now they are desolate and empty. The champak tree is a reminder of the state of affairs. Beautiful poem giving the realities of life. Thank you.

0 0 Reply
Kumarmani Mahakul 06 December 2018

A fantastic expression has been made on Champak treee which is evergreen tree, known for its strongly fragrant yellow or white flowers. All memories of the childhood are attached herewith. I cite... This tree is so much like my ancestral home Once the seat of life and bounty Now lying desolate and empty Stays spreading memories fragrant! Beautiful poem.

0 0 Reply
Akhtar Jawad 30 May 2014

Nice description. Time and death never spare any one.

1 1 Reply
Prasanna Mishra 24 April 2014

A fine articulation of gratitude. A sensitive poet's wonderful tribute to life.

1 1 Reply
Siyabonga A Nxumalo 22 April 2014

Lovely poem Valsa, well written indeed. Siya_! !

1 1 Reply
Geetha Jayakumar 21 April 2014

A wonderful poem, an old champak tree share with us the collection of old memories that too for our three generations. Loved it.

1 1 Reply
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