Whispers of A Tree

It woke me up - the soft pressure of an eagle sitting on my arm.



My sleep has been very disturbed these days. Even the feet of an eagle wake me up, disturbing me. Its claws, which used to tickle me, seem rasher these days, and seem to want to scrape my skin off.



Ah! My skin – it had been so soft once. Traces of moss on me made it softer. But now – it’s so different. It scares me sometimes. I guess I’m growing old. My skin has grown rough, and my foliage – the leaves look like they would rather die than live this way. It’s torture to see them withering. It was me, in all my million colours, who nurtured them, gave them food and water and let them grow into fleshy blooming leaves – the saviours of the world. And when in the morning, I wake up to find dewdrops on them, it makes me so happy! If they were not there, could you breathe?



You could not. You couldn’t live. But do you realise that? Do you thank me? Do you thank them? You waste me, and try to turn your  precious planet, and mine, into a desert. How would that help? I wish I could speak. I wish I could teach you. I can’t even move, until the wind weaves through my leaves. I can’t speak, until the wind whistles through me. That is music to my ears. But when you hack my arms off, you injure me, and injure yourself in turn. I wish I could teach you that too.



You sit under me, enjoy my shade. You rip my flowers off me.  Wouldn’t they have looked much more beautiful on me? Green pillows would have been better for a flower bed.



You mar me. You waste me. You rip my lungs. You kill my children. Do you realise that you’re slowly killing yourself? You’re killing your children too. But still, I love you. I love all of God’s children. I will let you breathe forever. I will do my duty. I shall never let you down. It gives me immense joy to see you happy. I want to see you happy forever. So I want to teach you how to realise my love for you, and love me back in return.



But I am growing older. Age is withering me. My leaves don’t have their previous shine. My flowers show themselves so less frequently than before. Let me see you change. Let me see the world change. Be aware. Teach yourself to love. Do not let me die before acheiving my goal.



This is for you, for me, for the world.