966. A - H U G E - B A N Y A N - T R E E! Poem by Raman Savithiri

Trifling mushrooms flourish in one or two nights.
Tomatoes bear crimson fruits in some fortnights.
Little trees become fruitful in a year or few.
But palm takes many years to give its due.

I am a huge banyan tree at its sapling nature.
It may take even a hundred years to mature,
And spread my invisible vines far and wide,
To embrace the entire cosmos now and ever.

Neither am I jealous at mushrooms swell;
Nor I look up on them down or small,
I am what I am - a huge banyan tree!
The innermost spirit that is ever free! !

Let my roots reach the inner stream still,
And let my branches reach the sky eternal.
My gardener is Mother Kali the most passionate
My garden is Father Siva the most compassionate.