ON KILLING a TREE
- Gieve Patel
Learning Outcomes
The learner will be able to :
* 1.2.1 - Read, analyse and understand poems.
* 1.2.2 - Develop a responsible attitude towards nature.
*1.2.3 - Recite the poem with proper stress, pause and intonation.
*1.2.4 - To attempt a poster on protecting trees.
Short
Summary
On Killing a Tree” is a sensitive poem. The
poet persuades the reader not to destroy trees and equates it with “killing” a
human being. He says that a plant takes sunlight, water, air and nutrients from
the soil to gradually become a huge tree. It develops a strong trunk and gets numerous
leaves.
Merely cutting the trunk of the tree does
not kill it. When a tree is cut, the sap flows out just like a wounded man
bleeds. Once the wound heals, new branches and tiny leaves grow from there
which grow into trees.
In order to destroy a tree, it has to be
uprooted. The roots which are white in colour and are damp due to the moisture
that they get from the soil are hidden in a pit in the Earth. These roots are
the most sensitive part of the tree as they bind it to the earth. In order to
kill the tree, these roots have to be detached from the soil.
Once the roots are detached, the tree starts dying, It withers, dries up with the action of heat and wind, twists, hardens and finally, dies.
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