It takes much time to kill a tree,
Not a simple jab of the knife
Will do it. It has grown
Slowly consuming the earth,
Rising out of it, feeding
Upon its crust, absorbing
Years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leperous hide
Sprouting leaves.
So hack and chop
But this alone won’t do it.
Not so much pain will do it.
The bleeding bark will heal
And from close to the ground
Will rise curled green twigs,
Miniature boughs
Which if unchecked will expand again
To former size.
No,
The root is to be pulled out –
Out of the anchoring earth;
It is to be roped, tied,
And pulled out – snapped out
Or pulled out entirely,
Out from the earth-cave,
And the strength of the tree exposed,
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
Then the matter
Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
And then it is done.
–Gieve Patel
Background:
Gieve Patel is an Indian poet, writer, painter and doctor by profession. He is also an environmentalist and his poem "On killing a tree" speaks about the cruelty of man towards environment. The process of cutting trees for urbanization and industrialization has been going on for a long time across many countries. The poem is a sarcastic take on how a tree should be killed from its roots instead of destroying parts of it which can grow back later. Through this poem, Gieve Patel wants to convey that a tree, just like a human being, is an essential part of this planet. Just like we humans go through various stages in our lives from childhood to adulthood, similarly, the tree takes years to grow by feeding on sunlight, air and water. Human beings can recover from injuries or amputation but when the heart stops functioning their life comes to an end. Similarly, in order to kill a tree its roots must be destroyed.
Structure:
The language used in the poem is simple yet remarkable. It gives a vivid description of the act of cutting a tree. The tree has been personified and hence the word ‘killing’ instead of ‘cutting’ has been used.
The poet also uses alliteration and imagery. This can be seen in expressions like ‘bleeding bark’, ‘leprous hide’ and ‘anchoring earth’. He seems to be using a tone of detachment and a neutral attitude but on a closer look it is observed that he is grimly mocking at man’s cruelty towards trees and nature. He also uses irony and sarcasm.
Analysis:
"It takes much time to kill a tree, not a simple jab of the knife will do it." The poem begins with the poet stating that it takes a lot of doing to kill a tree. He seems to be comparing it to the life of human beings. He says just like stabbing a human with a knife may not lead to death, the tree cannot be killed by merely attacking it with an axe. It takes a lot of time.
"It has grown slowly consuming the earth,
rising out of it, feeding upon its crust, absorbing Years of sunlight, air, water, and out of its leperous hide sprouting leaves."
The poet explains that the tree has grown slowly over the years by feeding on the earth, absorbing water and getting nourished by the soil. It has also absorbed sunlight and oxygen for many years. "Leperous hide" refers to the discoloured bark of the tree which resembles a leper’s skin and where small leaves start growing.
The poet speaks about the life of a tree by implying that just like we humans go through various stages in life from childhood to adulthood, the tree also takes years of nourishment to grow. Humans also need the same basic things like oxygen and water to survive.
Also, the poet might be referring to the other needs of humans like love, friends, family and society. A person’s mind and soul is nourished by these things as one grows up.
"So hack and chop
But this alone won’t do it.
Not so much pain will do it.
The bleeding bark will heal
And from close to the ground
Will rise curled green twigs,
Miniature boughs
Which if unchecked will expand again
To former size."
The mere act of hacking and chopping is not enough to kill a tree. The tree endures all the pain but continues to live as it heals over time. The bark which has been chopped will heal itself and the trunk of the tree near the ground will give rise to new green twigs and small branches which may grow to their former size again.
Even humans continue to live despite injuries or amputation of their limbs. They go through a lot of pain and suffering but get healed as time passes and continue to live.
"No,
The root is to be pulled out –
Out of the anchoring earth;
It is to be roped, tied,
And pulled out – snapped out
Or pulled out entirely,
Out from the earth-cave,
And the strength of the tree exposed,
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth."
To kill a tree, one has to attack the roots of the tree by pulling it out of the earth i.e. the source of its existence has to be destroyed by taking it out of its place of security and stability. The root should be tied with a rope and pulled out entirely from its safe place below the earth or it should be snapped out of there. The root, which is the source of strength for the tree, and also the most sensitive part as it is hidden inside the earth for years, must be exposed.
In humans, the source of existence is the heart which has to keep functioning for one to remain alive. A person may not die of injuries, broken bones or amputation of limbs, but if the heart stops, the person dies. The poet wants to convey that to kill anyone or anything, it must be killed at the heart or source of existence. Similarly, a person’s family, friends and loved ones might be their source of strength. He may not be hurt on loss of materialistic things but if their loved ones or social status is snatched away, their soul is deeply hurt and they feel their life is shattered.
"Then the matter
of scorching and choking
in sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
and then it is done."
After the roots have been exposed, it is only a matter of getting burnt in the sun and choking in the air. Here, the burning or scorching may refer to the discolouring of the root and choking may refer to drying up. It goes through browning, hardening, twisting, withering and then it is finally killed.
A person may have to go through a lot of suffering before the heart finally comes to a stop and the person dies. Also, when a person is separated from his loved ones or the society, he goes through a lot of painful emotions and grief until he feels completely broken from within.
Summary:
The poet speaks about the killing of a tree. He says that a lot of work has to be done in order to kill a tree and it cannot be killed by merely attacking it with an axe. The tree has fed upon the earth and grown from its crust by absorbing water from the soil for many years. It has also taken years of sunlight and oxygen to grow. The discoloured bark of the tree which resembles a leper’s skin, gives rise to new leaves. Hacking and chopping is not enough for killing it as the bark heals itself and the part of the trunk which is close to the ground may give rise to new twigs which may grow to their former size. The poet says that to kill a tree one must attack its roots by pulling it out of the earth where it has been hiding safely all these years. When the root is pulled out of the earth, it is white and wet as it is very sensitive. The root, which is the strength of the tree, is then left exposed to the air and the sun where it starts drying and discolouring. It goes through stages of browning, hardening, twisting and withering before it finally dies.
Theme:
The general theme of the poem is man’s cruelty to nature and the destruction of trees. The poet uses a sarcastic tone to explain how a tree has to be uprooted from its source for it to be killed. The tree grows by absorbing years of sunlight, air and water and it cannot die by merely hacking and chopping at it as its source of strength lies in the roots.
On a figurative level, the poem may also mean that to kill a tree or anything else e.g. a bad habit, it must be destroyed at the heart.
For human beings, injuries and amputation does not cause death, but if the heart stops functioning, there is no chance of survival as the heart provides the life blood and is their source of existence.
