There Once Was A Tree

By Pareezad Nowroji Berlin

There once was a tree

Tiny, fragile and green

Planted by a sidewalk

Where many a sight was seen

It grew strong, it grew tall

Spread its branches, leaves, flowers and all

It watched as the neighbourhood grew

As new couples moved in two by two

Its branches like outstretched arms, provided cool shade

To the street, where the little ones now played

It protected them from rain and sun

It watched in joy, awe and pride at all the fun

There once was a tree, verdant and supreme and perfect

It’s foliage full with shades of green

Throughout its branches, like a wretched web of an insect

Snaked and writhing - multitude of ugly wires met

At first they just draped

Like a delicate ribbon

Not hurting, or restricting the bough

Then more piled on, like angry snakes - swaying and hurting now.

Telephones wires, cables, television and the internet

This awful mass of blackness spread

Suffocating each branch, disrupting its growth

The tree soon began to feel strangled at its throat.

The lady complained that her phone wasn’t working,

The official came by to check where the problem was lurking

A Ladder was brought by

It pointed to the sky

Up went a labourer, with axe in hand

The neighbourhood gathered, and around the tree did stand

A few stepped up and tried in vain

As the official decided to explain

The tree has no place, or position or right

To grow on a sidewalk, blocking the light

It now is a nuisance, it now is a chore

Too many dry leaves fall on the floor

At first a few scraggly limbs fell

It was only the start, the next blow struck at its heart

More branches now fell to the floor, the immense, beautiful, majestic tree was no more

Each bough was cut, the flowers smashed, nests destroyed

As the trunk to the roadside crashed

Now all that was left, there to see

Was a dark, bare, empty, desolate gapping spot -

Where once, there was a Tree!

By Pareezad Nowroji Berlin