Madhu Sing
Tree Huggers
Buae,
You rose before the rooster’s crow while the sky was still India-ink and glittering gold.
You ground wheat into flour, pounded husk off rice, fetched fresh water from the communal spring, cooked the morning meal before setting off for the forest.
As the viridescent air seeped into your underfed torso, a tired night escaped your aching sinews. The soft moans of the forest did not escape your sensitive ears and your keen eyes saw where dawn broke through the gaps in the verdant canopy where poachers had felled scores of trees. Tears of dew rolling off chapped cheeks of barks mutely appealed to you-save us! And at that moment, by the formidable will of a simple village woman, an activist was born shouting- Chipko!
abandoned homestead
at the edge of the forest
still flowering
the wild unkempt orchards
with sweet-sour kaafal berries
Author Notes:
The Chipko movement was launched by the village women of Garhwal, India, against the felling of forest trees which were vital to their way of life.
Buae (pronounced boo-aye) means mother.
Chipko is an imperative verb that means ‘to stick’
About the Author
Madhu Singh’s poetry is inspired by nature and experiences gained by traveling. She is experienced in the IT Sector and in her free time dabbles in free verse and oriental poetry. She resides in New Delhi, India.
This a such a poetic and powerful piece of writing about a place, a way of life, and the birth of an environmental activist. Is it the ‘you’ that contributes to its strength? Buae, ‘you rose’ and ‘you ground’ – and the ‘your’ – your underfed torso’ and ‘your aching sinews’ -‘your eyes’ and ‘your ears’.
I love ‘tears of dew rolling off chapped cheeks’ and so many lyrical phrases in this tanka prose. And the message of protest, of saving the forest. Tree Huggers is a good title too.
Thank you Madhu.