The Vain Pine Tree

Its bark lies damp and scathed with scars
And wary of its presence over it my eyes lie
Staring at the thickness its arms ache with below
Remaining with nought but a needle when into the sky.
A pine tree- often defined for its kind endeavours
And to the lone poet in the mountains a refuge from worldly bond;
Seemed to my prying eyes there lay beneath its rough skin-
Something unpleasant beneath the fair mynah’s song.
For as burst the green sprouts of new leaves on its toned self-
Bursts too the ego that lies within it inside
Efforts once plenty, heavy with commitment at the bottom
But vain crept in and at the top, it tossed all effort aside.
And watch the spectators of humble grass from below
As it tilts in vain to the right its greenish head
And shake their heads the red poppies who spectate from below
The tree that because, and with its ego shall knock down dead.

A/N: Dear osdotme family, Hello! I missed you so much! My sincere apologies  for posting after such a long time. Offline schools have reopened in my state, bringing with them the overload of school assignments and homework (I have exams in another couple of weeks yet again). Posting an article had been on my mind and conscience for the entire past week, so excuse me for posting a not-so-well-thought-out post. I wrote this poem today in a free period at school, observing the beautiful pine trees that graced the eyes of a lone daydreamer from a classroom window, and as the tagline mentions, I challenged myself to write it in five minutes.

I know, trees are beautiful and one should take a more positive viewpoint, but the shape of the tree (Another one of Mother Divine’s fine creations of art) immediately made me want to write about it. And it is astounding how well it fits the stencil of human effort- a pine tree has heavy, leafy branches at the bottom, signifying the maximum effort put in when we begin a task. But as time passes, we apply lesser effort, leaving none but a needle at some point (Pun intended). And if we keep growing taller and taller that way, some day, that needle-y head will tilt too much and we shall come crashing down to the ground.

Perhaps it is just my opinion, but doesn’t this apply to several avenues of life? One as a child (the bottom of a pine tree) is full of colour, joy and life, giving it their all, but as they grow, we just do what we have to to get things over with. 

Be a tree, my friend, but be one to provide a soothing feeling to the aching back of a traveler. Be one so that an exquisitely woven net of shadows and sunshine falls on the face of the napping old man in your shade. Be one to spread your arms to house the houses of several birds. But let not your leaves cause anyone pain. Let not the dancing snowflakes be caught by you as they indulge in their sweet pastimes. Bend over so that the little boy can borrow a few fruits from you, but bend not to destroy anyone or destroy yourself.

Be a tree if you will, but be one to remember. Of course, you could be a human too, that’s a more expensive option though. 🙃 I hope this article was worth your time, because I really value it and the fact that you read the flimsy musings of an annoying teenager. Thank you so much! Immense gratitude.