I, Mango Tree Poem by J T Jayasingh

I am old now
Not in human age
But of our own.
I am lonely and desolate
For no breed of my kind is
Found anywhere near.
Oh! Once we had our time:
I with my parents, siblings
And friends lived.
Even then I felt
The signs of their enmity:
Even their young ones
Threw stones upon my Mom
After chewing her delicious fruits.
“It is hard to read their nature”,
Once my father said,
When he was a leafy bush.
Sometimes they watered us
And gave us food too
But only to harass,
Cut and chop into pieces
At their peak of madness.

I too had spring time
When I met my mate.
How handsome he was
With greenly, juicy leaves
And strong muscular boughs.
In a breezy august
He sent his first love message
Through the cute, tiny sparrow.
Then day by day we danced
In our ecstatic mood.
I blushed and flowered
To produce cute, golden fruits.
Birds played upon my bosom,
Squirrels lived on my boughs,
They too liked me then
Perhaps for my fruits.

Look there, the huge buildings!
All this place was once
The grove of my kind,
Then there was cool breeze
Magic scent, fruits, flowers,
Lovers, birds, squirrels
And all vibrant life.

But all ended on a May Day:
One after another all my kiths
Were chopped into pieces.
I watched all with pain and tears
And then mushroomed skyscrapers.
I don’t know why all these happen!
I don’t know whether they know why!
I am all alone now to see
Another May day in my life!
Is it my fate?