The Tree Beneath The Axe Poem by Rajendra Prasad Meena Jaipur India

"Why do you cut me? "
the tree whispered,
its leaves trembling
like frightened hands.

"You cut my branches,
yet breathe through my breath.
You wound my body,
yet build your life
beneath my shade."

The axe rose again.

A flock of birds
fled from the broken branches,
carrying their abandoned nests
into a sky without shelter.

The forest grew thinner.
The wind grew hotter.
The rivers began to shrink.

Far away,
the glaciers started weeping—
slow white tears
falling into a restless sea.
And the sea rose.

It reached for the cities,
knocking silently
against their doors.

The tree looked at the man
for the last time.

"You thought
you were cutting me—
but you were cutting
the branch beneath your own feet."

The man lowered his axe.

But the forest was already silent.

And in that silence,
the Earth whispered:

"When you destroy my breath,
where will you find your own? "