Tree Walk

[SivaRamanathan]

Granduncle taught me to revere trees
how to pray to them, caress and hug them
even if it meant only half way. ''Our gods
reside in them--the sap is their blood.''
He taught me how to make wishes
circumambulate and not pinch a twig;
''Our scientists proved that trees feel pain,''
so I merely picked up the flowers that fell.
The Maharaja of Travancore hid in the hollow
of a giant jack fruit tree, fleeing his enemies,
a tree mother. There are trees to remove
even infertility.It is all in their seeds and pods,
and the fragrance of the leaves. Ancestor trees
that have rings in their belly, trees that need support.
The Buddha walked to his Bodhi tree, he just knew.
The Keralites give their dowry in trees.
'Plant a coconut and it will serve you better than a son,'
goes their wisdom. I have a passion for the Neem,
cool and gentle, the medicinal margossa. To live in a house
where you can open windows and touch trees
or the branches of trees, with half walls
and sunshine slanting in.