To a Tree

To a Tree

They have plans for you.

I’m here to warn,

You cannot run away.

Nor can I take you to safety

But I’m here to let you know.

They have plans for you

And you cannot escape.

It’s not that some village needs you

For firewood to cook their meals,

Or to survive the cold. Not even to build their huts. 

You won’t be a sacrifice for a greater good.

It’s worse than that.

No, it’s not even that a rich man

Wants you for a sun deck he’s planning

With a view of the sea.

The worst of it is that you are in the way.

These folks want to get from A to B

As fast as they can, and a straight line

Is quicker than a bend to right or left.

A to B is how they think.

And they are very many and I am one.

If I sit here in your shade, they will

Come and take me aside. 
I cannot save you alone.

Some will miss you, but

They, too, are busy going from A to B.

There are so many going that way,

And then back from B to A, that

Along the way they honk horns, and yell

And even do mean things with their cars.

They think that the problem is with you,

Because you are where they need to be.

Maybe if they have a straight road

Right where you are, they will not fight so much.

They think like this.

O my.  I’m sad to tell you these things,

But I wanted you to be the first to know.

The birds and creatures that call you home

Will have to leave, and will watch from a distance

As you are taken away in chunks. 

I know you already know.

Your patience has taught you many things;

You are content with fate and understand

That cycles of life and death

Never end.

                                    -- C. S. Cholas, 14 January 2008