Poetry – The Last Tree

Posted on by Opher

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The Last Tree

 

We cannot resist. There is pleasure in destruction. There is a cruel streak in humans.

One of the favourite stalls at the fairground is the one where people smash crockery with wooden balls. The line up the plates and dishes and people pay to delight at the way they smash, crash and fall.

  • The kid with the airgun sitting in his backyard and picking birds off the line, feeling a leap of pleasure as each one falls.
  • The idiots with the chainsaws who ringed a giant redwood to put an end to its two and a half thousand year life.
  • It goes on relentless as children’s first reaction is to stamp on the bug.

Life is not sacred.

There is fun to be had at the expense of forest and creature.

Even at the animal park yesterday where they had two amazing Eagle Owl fledglings on the lawn a man with his two children joked that they should be shot and eaten.

Yet we are part of that web of life. When it is gone we will follow. We cannot live on concrete alone.

 


 

The Last Tree

 

When the last tree fell

There was laughter.

As the chainsaw bit

There had been jeers;

As the trunk crashed

And branches splintered

There were cheers.

 

As the last bird

Was blown

From the sky

There was a whoop

Of joyful triumph.

 

As the last Chimp

Was hacked

There was a smacking

Of lips.

 

There were no tears.

 

The tears were saved for later.

But when they finally fell

There was a flood.

 

By then it was far too late.

 

Opher 15.5.2016

50 thoughts on “Poetry – The Last Tree”

    1. Morning Anna,
      No new dogs?
      Without nature we don’t have a future Anna. It’s time we respected it.

      1. ☕️☕️☕️ Cheers Opher and Good Morning from Virginia!! The Tree was the first thing I read here in WP this morning and it put a lump in my throat 😔

      2. And good morning to you from sunny England (It’s cold here though). And thank you for your kind words.
        I think nature is worth fighting for. I love it so much.

  4. Morning Opher. Cold here too, very overcast had been drizzling. David and myself, with Daisy of course, went for a walk at 5.15 this morning and it was lovely – where has it gone now all miserable. So far no dogs, feel guilty I let this dog go back to owner, I know she was the one who dumped it, I would recognise all three of them. Have not seen Bambi but RSPCA said they are very elusive, would miss her if she jumped over fencing now. Nature, Other people do not respect Nature, I look around me here in Vicarage Gardens they tear up their gardens to put concrete down – I love my Trees crammed with Birds whose singing delights me throughout the day. Henry our Hedgehog who comes now and again, the frogs and we have not had a pond for such a long time, all of it Nature is worth living and fighting for.

    1. I’ve spent my life with nature and I hate seeing it treated so badly. People are cruel and thoughtless.

      1. I think I have in the last year, I don’t want to get hard but I find myself standing up for myself more. I doubt people would agree with that. Do you know, I have two double beds of bedding to iron, one more double bed of bedding to wash and I am just putting it off.

      2. Well that’s good. You have to stand up for yourself.
        Sounds like you have a bit of fun time ahead of you. I’m rewriting Danny’s Story.

    1. I’ve only done a first draft so far. It needs a rewrite to develop it a bit more, iron out the mistakes and make it flow better. It also needs to be a good twelve thousand words longer. I’ve a few things to incorporate. Then we’ll see.

      1. It’s you as well. Taurus – Strengths; Reliable/patient/devoted/responsible.stable (I’m not patient. – We are Stubborn/Possessive/Uncompromising. We like; Gardening/Cooking/Music/Romance. – We hate, Sudden changes, Complications/Insecurity Well that’s me, what about you.

      1. I read a book some years ago called “A Girl Named Sooner.” Sooner was good with animals. She found a bird with a broken wing and nursed it. Played with it. Cared for it. But it never could fly again. One day she took it to school for Show & Tell and the kids wanted to see it fly. She didn’t want to, but she took it out of its cage to show them it couldn’t. They all threw stones at it and left disappointed. The bird died. I can’t recall that scene in that book without being broken hearted. Yes, we do have a mean streak in us. It seems to me, if I remember correctly, that Sooner even joined in. The book made a strong impression on me. They made it into a movie with Lee Remick and Richard Crenna.

      2. That all sounds so very human. We have these two sides. It’s a huge flaw in our make-up. But I guess that it was instrumental in helping us survive in those early days. Right now its destroying the world.

      6. We have a tendency to take things to the brink. Hopefully we’ll realise in time before we go over.

  11. Reminds me of Joni Mitchell – took all the trees, put em in a tree museum, charged all the people, a dollar and a half just to seem em … nice one!

    1. I was watching a programme on the plight of the hardwood trees in Vietnam. Pitiful. The only way any of those majestic beauties will survive will be in a tree museum.
      Thanks for the compliment Dave.

      2. I think the first step is to get the people in charge to admit the gravity of the situation and commit to dpoing something about it.
        The way the world is run the developed countries run slipshod over everyone else.

  12. By the way, have made one or two changes to my Amazon review of your Anthropocene book, hopefully positive. I found it very helpful in developing my own ideas – the way forward is the holy grail …

    1. Hi Dave. I didn’t know you had left a review. Nothing came through to me. I checked Amazon and found a great review there for the 11th May. Was that your one?
      Thank you so much if it was. I loved it. It buoyed me up again.
      Here’s to the Holy Grail!

      2. Without reviews there are no sales. Without sales there are no reviews. I really appreciate it. Thanks again Dave.

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