Have you seen that gnarled tree
Standing in the corner of our street,
Her branches anchor children,
Loitering on streets.
Her shadowy foliage,
A shrine for veneration: A haven
Where the early seeker meditates,
Offering a prayer with coconuts, bananas
And incense sticks to Gods;
Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma
Have always rested there.
*
She is home for the homeless,
Her soul river- like,
Bears the vicissitudes of fate
Bows down to tempests,
Soars with the wind,
Plummets with the disappearing sparrow
And hides in the seven-coloured chameleon.
She lulls the weary soul to sleep.
She harbours nesting fledglings
From prying eyes and sharp talons.
Warbling birds shelter in her crevices,
Scattering seeds soon to sprout.
*
A canopy, she’s hosted
The theatrical puppeteers
Whose roaring voice commands;
And on whose dancing strings poise
Wide-eyed magical legends.
Lo! How mysteriously appear Lord Ram,
Wailing the loss of Sita;
And a lusty Ravana hovering,
Swooping at his prized possession:
At her frailty, chortling
Jeering and roaring, villainously;
And Hanuman at Sita’s rescue.
*
Oh bent tree, you archive mellifluous yarns,
Beat to the tales of raconteurs
And wizened storytellers of yore,
Who opened up treasures unbelievable
To the credulous open-mouthed populace
By strumming stories in Baul songs.
Pause, Tarry, O passer-by, witness
Your soul’s beatitude,
Align with this bent tree in rapturous ecstasy…
Perhaps ’tis your soul’s music,
Guiding you to your roots,
The universe, our fractal history!
*
© Mumtaz N Khorakiwala
25-2-2021
This poem was chosen for a Spotlight Award in the month of March 2021, on Poets Inc. It was , I quote Kimberly, “ …chosen for its apt choice of wording and culturally enriching references, the poetic phrasing, the use of personification evoking emotive response from the readers, sensory/ emotive devices that enable the reader to feel what is being conveyed via a central character,” the personified tree aligns with a myriad human qualities and also brings out their cultural importance in bygone India.
