The Neem Tree Poem by Shankaran Kutty

Long time ago, in the corner
Of a large park by a stream
There stood a little neem plant
No one to care for did it seem

Amidst the rows of pretty daisies
And sunflowers so shining yellow
And the swaying, smiling pansies
Our little plant had nothing to show.

“In the midst of this pretty garden
That ugly plant doesn’t fit”
So were the vistors’ comments
He felt he was a misfit

He yearned for a little water
Even which they forgot to give
And a little free sunshine
Is all he needed to live

Ignored and abandoned
He wilted in the summer heat
But growing his roots to the stream
He helped himself to a treat

And slowly he grew so tall
As if to reach to the cloud
With branches out like an umbrella
He stood there tall and proud.

The wind whistling through his leaves
Gave the land a healthy air
But he still stood ignored
His mind filled with despair

For the visitors to the park still said
“Oh that tree is such an eye sore
Cut it, that these pretty flowers
We could plant, some more “

Yet when even a small child
Came to sit in his shade
He felt he had achieved nirvana
He felt his day was made

People came for his leaves
They came to pluck his twigs
They came to take his seeds
To heal they plucked his sprigs

Yet, when they went away
They commented from afar
That tree in this beautiful garden
Its beauty, certainly does mar

But the tree never took hurt
And took it all in his stride
To serve his fellow beings
He did it with lots of pride

One day a rich man came along
His son had fallen ill
And the doctor said the touch of neem
Cure him, certainly will

Soon his men were at work
As they hacked away at the tree
His leaves, bark and root
People grabbed for free

The rich man took home the trunk
To make a chair for his son
And for that, the poor neem tree
He cut it down for fun

And in that corner of the park
A little stump there stood
And the mighty tree was now
A dead piece of wood.

Yet from that stump there seemed
To flow a tear of joy
For even in his death he seemed happy
That he could save an unknown boy.