The Jujube Tree And Me Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair
The Jujube Tree And Me
We saw every evening
And greeted each other
The jujube tree and me
In the middle of the desert
Where I took my evening strolls
Ours was a friendship
That needed no introduction
For we knew without knowing
We were in each other
From time immemorial
In creation endlessly eternal
Yet never ever begun
Like the star and the sky
The moon and the rabbit on her lap
She grew on barren land
Perhaps from a vagrant bird drop
Giving existence
Luxuriant expression
In her ever-verdant radiance
When the desert decides to smile
Aren't tropical paradises often shamed?
Her foliage had all the green
And shine nature could ever glean
Children wandering the desert
Ravaged her leaves
For the gems she bore
In magnanimous abundance
At the close of winter months
Yet she never complained
She watched them play
In her secure shade
Like a mother in snooze
Half alert and half dazed
While the afternoons slothfully aged
Birds thronged her branches
Made nests and brooded
Imparting warmth to their eggs
In wintry nights
Looking at the stars
Their little heads filled
With the mirth of moonlit nights
Alas! I didn't find her in her place
This evening with a beaming smile
What all that remained
Was an upturned stump
A clump of broken roots
That called out in vain
To a sinking evening sun
Like the raised hands of the dead
In a massacre scene
She has been felled
And unceremoniously carted
Away to give way
To a prestigious monument
To be made of concrete
Glazed tiles and marble
That would commemorate
An achievement
In preserving environment
A pain grips my heart
Like an angina in rage
As I sink on my knees
To touch those dying hands
Of my departed mate
Distressed like the birds
Homeless and wailing
Brittle eggs crushed
Embryos whimpering in sunshine
I raise my eyes
Tearfully refracted
To an elusive horizon
Blurred and distant
Saintly impersonal
As the summer wind whispers
The tree and you are destined
To meet again and again
In an unending sojourn
To share your tears and pain
And perish in vain
Periodically vandalized
By space and time
What it matters if a mate
Is missed for a while
When she is inseparable
And eternally in you -
The jujube tree and you
I share your pain with all its intensity since I too have seen many a tree uprooted to x, y, z, reasons. We humans in order to meet our materialistic ends has subjugated nature and the nature in turn has started punching right back. This year we have experience exceptional hot summer months may be due to global warming etc. Trees play an important role in moderating and regulating the climate and hence it is high time that we stop this genocide and instead start planting them.
I agree with you in principle.Needless distruction of trees by people causes many bad effects on climatic conditions also. Well versed poem..Thank you...
3 – in the U.S. i think few birds brood eggs on " wintry nights" , but i think some large owls may. ok, i'm not sure about in the 'southern states'. st.8: i think " What WAS all that remained" I’ll have to come back perhaps to finish reading etc. Bri :)
2 - from Google: " Frequently, the Maya moon goddess is represented with a rabbit in her lap." " gems" ? " Jujubes are pretty trees with glossy green leaves.....Called ﾓChinese Dateﾔ, the fruit is very sweet.." st.5: 'mother snoozing'? " brood eggs" : to sit upon the eggs for the temperature regulation
1 - I could 'swear' i already read this, saw this photo, and made a comment! ! ! Maybe PH f+d with me. line 1: we " met" ? stanza 2: but 'eternal' MEANS without beginning OR end, as some believe 'God' is. i was taught that 'God' made 'the heavens', so 'they would NOT be " eternal" .
Alas! I didn't find her in her place This evening with a beaming smile What all that remained Was an upturned stump A clump of broken roots That called out in vain To a sinking evening sun Like the raised hands of the dead In a massacre scene- - - A powerful write- - -The images you created of a jujube felled tree equating with as losing one of your close friend is deeply heart touching.Thank you for sharing the marvelous write.
Great piece of writing, evoking strong feelings. The love we develop for Nature has its roots very deep inside us. The felling of a tree is no ordinary thing for a thinking poetic soul. The poem is also a reflection upon the materialism of people who are messing with nature to make material gains. Lovely expression. A superb write that shakes the soul.10
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/25/2024 4:41:28 AM # 1.0.0.1119
The poem evokes powerful feelings of loss and also indignation in the mind of all tree lovers over the callous act of some thoughtless 'reformers' who cut down the tree to give way to a monument in cement and mortar! The tree stood in the desert giving shade and shelter to man and birds! Over this reckless act, your mind grieved and was distressed like the birds who became homeless and wailing over their eggs crushed! Very powerful write..... You have succeeded in sharing your sense of loss with the readers!