On killing a tree - IX std

On killing a tree

- Gieve Patel

Gieve Patel:

Gieve Patel (born in 18 August 1940)is an Indian poet, playwright, painter, as well as a practicing physician/doctor based in Mumbai.

Theme: 

The poem is about killing a tree.  But it is not easy to kill a grown up tree. We should remember that we should never attempt to kill a tree that has taken years and years to grow to its full size.

Content :

 The poet describes the act of cutting tree. It simply jabbing the tree with a knife.  Nor is it by hacking or chopping. It takes a lot of effort to kill a tree.  The poet describes the difficult task in order to remind us that we should not kill such a tree. The tree has taken many years to grow. The tree consumes the earth. It rises out of the soil slowly. It absorbs sunlight, air, and water. This process goes on for years. To kill a tree the root has to be pulled out. So a rope is tied to the root firmly. It is snapped out forcefully. It becomes brown, hard, twisted and dried up.