Pravat Kumar Padhy
Crown Shyness
I came across the phrase “Crown shyness” recently while reading a journal for children narrating the environment and Mother Earth. As such the tree remains one of my literary pearls. I often use a tree as a metaphor—Like a monk, it is determined / In its root of meditation / Like a river, it adheres / To its mission of union… So deep is its root / Like depth of love and truth… So calm its heart / Like mid ocean’s water… When it smiles / Spring arrives.
Scientists say that canopy shyness is related to photosensitivity and it could be attributed to avoiding any abrasion or lateral damage due to wind and thus creating a space in between.
I discover the play of hide and seek under the soothing blue sky along with the refreshing green.
in the dense forest
I walk on the narrow trail
and gasp the fragrance
komorebi
the splendor of crown shyness
About the Author
Pravat Kumar Padhy holds a Master of Science and a Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology, ISM Dhanbad. He is a 2022 panel judge for The Haiku Foundation Touchstone Awards and is on the editorial board of Under the Basho. Besides poetry, he devotes time to writing scientific papers on planetary geology and listening to classical songs.