Poem Of The Day 16th November 2013

[Zindagi]

I saw a man
Attack a tree today
The road from
Mysore
To Ooty
About twenty miles along it
There you'll see a tragic sight.

A line of noble trees
Mutilated: branches ripped
Untimely from their trunks,
The trunks themselves
Wounded, lacerated
Have died

Their sides
Browned by the sun
Their scabs and scars
Defy repair.

Those noble trees
Planted long since
By some sweet hand, some Ismail
Visveswaraya or unknown :
Or royal patronage :

Let them come now from some
More peaceful shade
To look once more
On their life's work.

Trees for the people?
Let all enjoy them
Hack them cut them up
So that the fires
That cook the village
Food
Shall burn more hot.

Trees are our heritage