But Why Did She Not Leave? Poem by Banu Dai

She was born on a tree top
In a nest of old straws
She had lovely feathers
And a smile that draws

Her home was old
The trunk wrinkled
Leaves yellow and dangling
Awaiting a shudder
To wither and droop

She wished to abandon
Move to a place laden
Build a newer castle
With grass of golden
Fill it with eggs to be beholden.


But why did she not leave?

The winds stopped her
The leaves spoke to her,
The branches wound up
Increased their grip on her
We shall all stay behind
Its only in this life
That we shall be together
Feel the air, gaze at the stars,
Dangle on the branches, pick straws
Why do you need someone else?
Our roots are strong
We shall live long,
Do not worry,
The yellow leaves will be replaced
By some fresh green ones,
We shall have new friends
In the trees opposite us
It's not many years that we have to pass
But we shall be here as long as we last.

Don't go flying too high,
Our eye sight is not so fine
My eyes blink if it stares at the sky
Mine waters
Life is not about high flights
Its mainly low, steady ones
As you gather speed
There's nothing that we can see
Everything blurs,
Your feather becomes colourless,
I feel so lost
With the journey my young ones sought
We lost many to these dreams
In lands which we can never see
Why did you leave? We asked,
To follow my dreams, they wrote
Did you dream pleasant?
Could you see my face?
Did you feel my tenderness?
Did some bark help you heal?
Could you find any new roots?
Did those branches embrace?
Did the flowers smell any better?
We are your life line,
In our arms you can stay strong
It's a small life this time
There plenty to do here,
You just have to look,
Look near, dreams are here
You were born in our midst
Then why do you leave to take someone's place
Let each be in their environment,
Each one is there,
Where he belongs
At a place, in a time
Recognize,
It's not we that matter
It's only our residue that we scatter
Do not go to a land that's far
For, in our old trunk is your heart.

Banu Dai