I’m Rooted To The Ground By Nature Poem by Niki Nicholas Nkuna

I’m where I’m supposed to be by nature
Stationed permanently by nature to grow high and blossom by season
My beauty is a curse to my life
It renders me vulnerable to forced removals
It renders me vulnerable to plug or plague
It renders me vulnerable to wild fires and wanton fire scourge

I may know or not know what is to come
But all the same I can’t move out of the way of danger or capitalise on sporadic rain
I’m rooted to the ground by nature
Some provocation I can withstand
The blow of the wind, the extreme cold of winter and the scourge of the merciless sun
Let alone the rainstorms and floods
In fact I do enjoy those even though they feed me up to nausea

I wish I can move like humans
Thus I can do things at will rather than forcefully manoeuvred and used
Let alone being destroyed haplessly
I can even charge a fee for beautifying some people’s dwellings at will
I can even repel the myriad assailants of insects, people and animals
Who don’t bother to maim me in the quest of feed or brag

N Nkuna,3 January 2014