The generous and the selfish

The generous and the selfish​

Oh mighty tree! How barren ye stand, this wintry day,
While mortals, we, are wrapped up full,
In Clothes all warm, to keep away chill.
You shed thy leaves and give thine warmth
To the bare feet of men, Poorer amongst us,
While we greedy men
Grab all the wool from yonder sheep
To keep us warm and snug.

Oh lofty tree! How proud you stand, flowers all in bloom,
All through the spring, spreading thy fragrance to one and all,
And we petty mortals, care not at all,
We squeeze them in bottles to be sold as perfumes
For the exclusive use of a privileged few.

Oh generous tree! You stand so tall
All full of leaves on a quiet summer day,
We hapless men stand almost bare
To shove away the scorching sun’s glare.
You give us fruits, so tasty and sweet,
They tickle our taste buds and make us go crazy!
And yet we men, we merciless men,
Cut down ye trees to fulfill our needs, Oh what a pity!

 

Dear Padma,
Thank you for your comments on this poem.I got an inspiration for this poem from 'Nizim Ezekeil's "On cutting down a tree" which I learnt in school.

 

Dear Chithra,
In Darwin's theory of 'survival of the fittest' we humans are doing a great job at the cost of everything else around us! What a pity!

 

Dear Sriniketan,
Thank you for your comments. We people can only lament about these things. What else can we do?

 

Dear Chitra,
Thank you for your showering me with praise with your beautiful words! But I wouldn't like that to happen,because I love to see the flowers on the trees rather than showering them on me, a hapless lamenter! It brings to me the memory of a hindi poem where the flower seems to speak through the poet- "Let me not decorate the tresses of beautiful lasses/Rather I would prefer to be a wreath on a soldier's coffin/to be strewn along the path which the soldiers march!