On Killing a Tree by Gieve Patel

Gieve Patel was born in 1940 in Mumbai. He was educated at St Xavier's High School and Grant Medical College. He lives in Mumbai where he is a general practitioner.

The Poem

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 wont 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.

Annotation

“On killing a tree” is written by Gieve Patel. It tells us that only cutting the branches or cutting its stem is not enough to kill a tree. The branches and leaves will grow again. We need to cut out the root and dry it in the sun so that it is destroyed. This poem highlights a lot of morals. Firstly, it displays the destructive nature of humans. Secondly, it shows that Mother Nature is inevitable and cannot be easily destroyed. Thirdly, the tree is a symbol of mankind. It says that human life is not so easy to end. If we cut the fingers or the skin, then we do not die. It is the heart that should be cut-out. This is the main theme of the poem. The poem is very short. But it slashes out scar in our minds.

Full Interpretation

In the poem, “On Killing a Tree” by Gieve Patel, the poet wants to say something about the cutting of trees. According to him, it will take too much time to kill a tree. It is not just a simple jab: a quick stab or blow: to do the job. The tree has grown slowly consuming the earth: eating and drinking from it: rising out of the earth, feeding upon the crust of the earth, absorbing: taking in: innumerable years of sunlight, air water, out of the trees’ leprous hide: resembling the skin of a leper (here) refers to the discolored bark of the tree: the newly formed leaves begin to sprout.

A woodcutter may hack: cut or chop with repeated and regular blows: and chop, but still this alone will not do the job. The tree does not seem to feel any kind of pain because the bleeding bark seemed to heal all the time. The trunk of the tree from close to the ground will produced curled green twigs that will rise from the miniature bows. If their growth is not checked, then they will expand again and grow to their former sizes.
The most important thing to do while killing a tree is to ensure that the root is pulled out of the anchoring: source of security and stability: earth. The tree is to be rope-tied and pulled out: snapped out: pulled apart or break with a snapping sound: or it should be pulled out entirely from the earth cave.

Finally, the strength of the tree will be exposed, from the very source where the white and wet, which is the most sensitive part which has been hidden for many years inside the earth. Then it is only a matter of scorching: burning superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of: and choking: here drying up: in the sun. In the end, the tree will go through a process of browning, hardening, twisting and withering. Then ultimately, the tree gets killed.