ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Big Old Tree Mourning
(c) M. Pattie 2011

Poor old Grand-daddy weeping fig
would weep much more if he knew;
Down he’ll come after all these years
cos he impedes somebody’s view.

Umbrella tree; so big and tall,
your fruits are lorikeets lure.
Down you’ll come cos your roots have run,
and they’ve grown too close to the sewer.

Leichhardt tree; such a pest is he,
cos someone slipped on a seed.
Stupid acts win the bags of cash
so the shade gives way to the greed.

Big ghost gum, seems your race is run;
you’ve broken the golden rule.
No one’s got any time no more
just to scoop your leaves from the pool.

“Unsafe trees” where the roots invade
and the leaves leave a great big mess.
Trees we need; ones that drop no leaves
so to cause us anymore stress.

Now no one plants any mango trees,
And no one plants any fig.
No one plants any milky pine
cos they all grow too bloody big.

Sadly now in our hectic lives
we’ve got no time for the tree;
down-grade swap for a compact size
all neat and maintenance free.

Smaller blocks lead to smaller plants;
exotic dwarfs all the go!
(not midgets from Patagonia)
but plants that don’t seem to grow.

My kids, they want to grow and play,
and chase the fresh fallen leaves.
Mangoes squished in-between their toes
with dirt stains all down their knees.

Starring up at the wonderment;
the majesty of the tree.
Gazing over the canopy tops
for as far as the eyes can see.

Awestruck beneath its giant limbs,
with bird noise the only sound.
Wide-eyed kids not stressed by the roots
as they grow deep down in the ground.

Days so long with the birds in song,
high up in the tree; well fed.
Laughing free, when inevitably
a bird shits down on their head.

Trees so wild and with hearts so big
put in appropriate spots.
Not like ones you see advertised
in plastic terracotta pots.

Cos trees aren’t meant to be ornaments.
Real trees; like the ones on the farm.
Cos no one heard of a kid who climbed
up a self-cleaning ornamental palm.

So let’s embrace all our big old trees
and the small price that we pay,
and shelve that proverbial cotton wool
cos life is a risk either way.

Very topical Marty. Some passionate thoughts on conservation there.

There's a big stoush in Newcastle costing ratepayers, so far, $1m + in court costs over the Council wanting to cut down an avenue of fig trees. Nobody has been able to find out the exact reason for the tree culling.

Well written I thought ...except cos rattled my ear a bit ( sorry to be picky ).
Then again someone more astute then me might think that fits the theme and style, I'll stand corrected.

Funny you should post this Marty but i came past a spot yesterday where I have spent many a lunch hour in the shade of the big figs. Now they have not cut them down but have put in a bitumen car park out in the middle of nowhere so you now have to park and walk 50 meters to the trees and guess what no seating or tables.


The reason parking was not maximised.

ah sure Ted. Yeh

As you were Nev . . to be honest it's amongst a number of things that rattle me too. It just slotted into a tricky sort of metre which once I started . . . well there was no turning back. Just felt the need to post some poetry for a change.

Marty

warooa wrote:Just felt the need to post some poetry

Fantastic, that's how it goes. Good on ya Marty.

Great stuff ....... and a metaphor for how we treat everything in nature.

Stupidity it breeds contempt of people, that are to lazy to look after what is there, untill it is to late, then it's gone

trees are for kids and their future not for lazy do gooders who have gone past their use by date.

Bill The Old Battler

G/day Marty,

An enjoyable and timely poem mate

You have touched on a sore point of mine; in Perth most of our Morton Bay Figs are gone now, as are most of the other wonderful shade trees that used to grace this city. They make way for more concrete desolation, at the behest of brain dead councils and Governments of all political persuasions.
No wonder I prefer the bush.

Terry

Thanks everyone . . . you're too right Terry - give me the bush anyday. Our law makers and bureacrats are spooked by the litigious world we live in so the poor big old trees don't stand much of a chance.

"Civilisation" getting in the way of nature Marty. I've fond memories of my kids climbing the trees here - my son in particular. I used to freak at how high he would climb. The trees and the life they bring are a big part of why I love where I live.

Heather