Help Me Reach My Mother, Sweet Earth Poem by Bashyam Narayanan

I was a bright shining
Green leaf
Attached to the tall tree
Standing by the side of a busy road
I know no one would have noticed me
As each one has an important reason
For ignoring my presence
But, now I am a
Brown dry leaf
Lying on the pavement
And over me a number of people
Pass and again none took a note of me
Each moving vehicle, big or small
Flushes over me
A harsh wind
That keeps me airborne
For a short while and
I am getting displaced frequently
Making me feel
I am unwanted and I have no place
Of my own on this great earth
I was quite busy when I was attached to the tree
If you look at me
You can see prominent veins
Which kept supplying water to
Each cell of mine
And my cells in turn
Were very active
Producing carbohydrates
From the trapped carbon dioxide
Making use of the sunlight
With the help of the green chlorophyll
Compacted in them
Very importantly
Breathing out oxygen as a bye-product
For the benefit of human beings
I dance with the wind
However, mild or wild it may be
And never had I thought I am going to be
Separated from my tall tree
I came out of fresh branch
Tender, soft and silky
Nutrients flowed in me
And I reached my full growth
In a fortnight’s time
I was proud as I was almost
On the top
Receiving full sunlight
Cool breeze keeping me comfortable
I kept doing my job
And I thought I would continue this
Through my entire life time
After three months
Supply of nutrients dwindled
Water availability reduced
I started turning yellow
The twig holding me on to the branch weakened
And a strong wind made
The unkindest cut
And fell from the tree
Floating in air for sometime
And being carried away from my mother tree
I looked at her from a distance
I heard her yelling
“Sorry my child
Your time has come
And one day I too will fall
Do not worry
Mother earth will take care”
Since then I am in search
Of my new mother
All these days I am either on
A cement-slab paved pathway
On a tar-topped road
Where is my mother earth
With her sweet soil
That will silently devour my nutrients
For recycling them to
Standing vegetation
And help me have a
Peaceful, but beneficial death
Dear any one
Who knows and appreciates my plight
Help me reach
My mother, sweet earth