A celebration of trees

Did you know? They are cutting down the old trees Up in the cantonment area So that you can ride In contentment Cocooned in your air-conditioned car.

You wouldn’t know, sir That I have walked under their shade For the last forty years On and off, not everyday On and off, light to shade From hot to cool From peace to strife and back Among the old trees As they stretched out their branches To protect me from the glare In between.

You wouldn’t know, sir There were poor folk Selling their humble wares Seeds, cigarettes and fruit juice The old, tired of walking Resting, Wiping their faces with a fraying piece of towel And looking up and sighing grateful At the spreading shade of these trees.

You wouldn’t know, sir That lives about which you never wanted to know Lived in the shade of these trees. Like the crows and sparrows The squirrels, the kites The tramps, the dogs The beggars and The likes of me - Lives, sir, you really wouldn’t care about.

If you stepped on to the tarmac at noon From shade to sun You would feel the heat. Do you feel the heat, sir? One day, I am sure, you would The day everything comes to a halt. Where is your car going, sir?